In 2019, the
National Lottery Heritage Fund celebrate 25 years of supporting heritage good
causes around the country.
In that time, it has
invested £1.6billion of National Lottery money in landscapes and nature. That
includes more than £950m in public parks and cemeteries.
The fund recognised
early on the value of investing in public parks, and over 25 years its grants
have reached every corner of the UK, providing benefit to the 37m people that
use public parks every year.
In 2006 it was
joined in our support of parks by The National Lottery Community Fund, helping
yo expand the work in transforming public parks.
Highlights of the
fund's park projects over the past quarter-century includes:
- Antrim Castle
Gardens, an 8th-century Anglo-Dutch water garden, was transformed. It has been
an amazing success since receiving funding in 2006. This year it won a Tourism
Northern Ireland award for Authentic Northern Ireland Experience of the Year.
- Funding also helped
to shine a light on the miniature masterpiece of design that is York Gate
Gardens. Tucked away in the village of Adel on the outskirts of Leeds, it’s a
magnificent example of the Arts and Crafts movement in garden form. In 2017 it
was named by The Times as "the
seventh best garden to visit in the UK".
- Dean Castle Country
Park in East Ayrshire, Saughton Park in Edinburgh, and Holywells in Ipswich are
leading the way on the accessibility front with Changing Places toilets. These
extra-large bathrooms meet the needs of all people with a disability and ensure
equal access to an enjoyable day out.
- There are more than
1,300 Changing Places toilets around the UK.
- Brooke
Park (pictured) is another lovely example from Northern Ireland. Conservation volunteers
help manage the park, which features wheelchair-friendly play equipment, and is
one of the few large green spaces in Derry City.
- Marine Cove Gardens
in Burnham-On-Sea in Somerset is possibly one of the smallest green spaces
we’ve ever funded. The tiny but perfectly formed 0.17 hectare of formal gardens
was originally part of an old vicarage site. Almost a decade on from the award,
it is still going strong, and the much-loved lion head fountain remains in
use.
- The Friends of Zion
Graveyard, in Attercliffe, revitalise the very small and forgotten graveyard,
located in the middle of a Sheffield industrial estate. The graveyard is the
resting place of Mary Anne Rawson, one of the leading anti-slavery campaigners of
the 19th century.
- Dead Space to Living
Place is another great cemetery project, in Berkhamsted. It’s a small green
space with a committed volunteer group. They inspire wonderful community
involvement through activities ranging from the recent book festival to
adopt-a-grave gardening scheme and volunteer social events.
- The beautiful
Whitworth Art Garden, part of The Whitworth Gallery (which was transformed with
£15m of National Lottery funding), takes the exhibition space beyond the
gallery walls. It houses outdoor sculptures, as well as an orchard garden and
wildflower area for relaxation and reflection.
- Burnby Hall Gardens
is home to one of the best collections of hardy water lilies in a natural
setting in Europe and attracts around 50,000 visitors a year. The 2016 funding
helped renovate the park’s lakes – revitalising the lilies and improving
conditions for the ornamental fish that live in them.
