A multi-million pound plan to uncover the hidden gems of one of the world’s most important parks has been unveiled by The Royal Parks today.
Managers at Greenwich Park want to bring its incredible 590-year history to life and improve its iconic features for its 4.8million visitors, including its stunning London skyline view.
Proposals are now being drawn up for the Greenwich Park Revealed project, which is hoped will attract millions of pounds of Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund investment – in the same way The Royal Parks’ Brompton Cemetery Conservation Project secured £4.5million.
Greenwich Park is the most historic of the Royal Parks, and was enclosed in 1433, but it dates back to the Roman times. As well as a Grade 1 listed landscape, it is, more importantly, recognised as one of the planet’s most important areas set within a World Heritage Site.
The Greenwich Park Revealed Project aims to reveal even more of the park’s history while looking forward at how visitors of tomorrow will experience what it has to offer. It focuses on three key areas:
- The past; telling the story of the 590-year-old park through improved viewing points and educational opportunities as well as uncovering historical features.
- The present; improving existing buildings, including food and drink areas, as well as protecting the natural features such as flowerbeds and trees.
- The future; making full use of the park and encouraging those who may not have used it before – or who struggle to – to come and enjoy it, and uncovering opportunities to make the park more sustainable such as using borehole water and planting disease resistant trees.
Graham Dear, Greenwich Park Manager, said: “Greenwich is one of the country’s oldest parks, and, in fact, is one of the world’s most historically important areas. While the millions of visitors who come here each year have a fantastic time, we recognise their experience could be even better.
“Our top priority is to ensure Greenwich continues to be the local community park for nearby residents and families, but we also want to ensure tourists go away with a wonderful experience and that we are top of their ‘tell your friends’ list.
“There’s so much more Greenwich Park has to offer and this is now our opportunity to open those doors, uncover what’s great about this place and ensure we make Greenwich a park for the future.”
The project is in its early stages, and the team behind it are now seeking the views of the public on what they want from the park.
Head of Education and Community Engagement at The Royal Parks, Toni Assirati, said: “We have lots of ideas about how we could spend lottery funding to improve the park and experience for our visitors, but we want to hear from the public about what they like and dislike, and what issues are important to them as park users.”
Later this month, the public will have a chance to find out more about the plan and speak to those leading the project when a public meeting is held in West Greenwich Library on November 22 between 7pm and 9pm.
To read more details about the project and to share your views via an online suggestion box, visit the Greenwich Park Revealed Project page
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