Faversham Recreation Ground is to get a makeover!

Swale Borough Council announce that £1.9m makeover for Faversham Recreation Ground is on it’s way.

Faversham Recreation Ground will be given a new lease of life after we successfully bid for National Lottery funding to transform the park.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Big Lottery Fund (BLF) have announced the scheme has been awarded more the £1.6m for an ambitious, heritage-led, regeneration scheme that will restore many of the park’s historic features, and improvements to facilities.

The funding also supports a five year action plan of community engagement which will open up the site’s history to current users, and target groups who may not have thought about using the park previously.

The news comes two years after the council won £117,800 initial funding from the HLF and BLF to develop plans for a wide range of improvements to the 20 acre recreation ground.

This led to detailed consultations taking place with local residents and organisations to help draw up fully costed plans that were submitted in January.

The planned improvements and activities include:

• refurbishment of the former gardeners lodge and loggias
• restoration of original wrought iron gates and boundary fence on Whitstable Road and Park Road
• reinstatement of some areas of historical planting and paths
• re-imagining unique features such as the drinking fountain and mile stone
• refurbishment of the main changing pavilion and toilet block
• improvements to both the play area and skate park
• development of a catering kiosk
• creating an outdoor performance space
• establishing a Community Park Forum
• employing a park activities co-ordinator, park ranger and two horticultural apprentices
• recruiting volunteers and offering training opportunities
• a programme of events to bring the park alive

Cllr David Simmons, cabinet member for environment and rural affairs at the council, said:

“This is fabulous news for the town, and will help us build on the 150-year history of The Rec to make sure the park will be enjoyed by the local community for generations to come.

“Local people have been involved every step of the way, and thanks to their contributions, a lot of hard work by the team here and the support of our partners, the park will be given a new lease of life.

“There’s still a lot of work to do, but thanks to National Lottery players, we’re now able to start planning the works and creating a park local people can be proud of.”

The next steps for the council are to:

• re-appoint the specialist team who drew up the plans in order to get a detailed programme of works
• re-engaging with key stakeholders in the community who have helped in the first two stages
• establish the Community Park Forum who will be used to help guide the activity programme for the site

Initial work is expected to begin in the autumn, with improvements to the play areas, with remaining works getting underway in the spring in order to schedule them around existing users.

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