Lancashire Park awarded £55,000 from National Lottery funds

A park in Darwen in Lancashire is looking forward to a much needed revamp after being granted a substantial amount of funds from the National Lottery.

Whitehall Park has been awarded the generous sum of £55,000 and is expected to use the funds to modernise the onsite children's play area in addition to restoring two of the parks elaborate water fountains.

Since 2007 an estimated £150,000 has helped to accomplish the renovation of a disused park building and to create a public rose garden in the park.

John Starbuck, a spokesperson for charity the Friends of Whitehall Park said:-

“The playground needs a lot of work on it and we have spent hours filling out forms for grants.

The problem is that play equipment is horrendously expensive and the money doesn’t stretch far.

We are only at planning stage at the moment, but when it is finished we hope it will attract a lot of people into the park.”

The charity has also applied to national waste disposal experts Sita for a donation of £20,000 which if secured will be used to restore a beautiful Edwardian drinking fountain which was originally donated to the park in 1906 by the Cathlow family.

The Friends of Whitehall Park are also working to restore the park’s Lightbown fountain which was donated to the park by the Lightbown family when the park was first opened in the 1880's.