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Stanley Park set for £25 Million Revamp
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by Nick Coligan, Liverpool Echo
NEGLECTED and vandalised buildings in Liverpool’s Stanley Park are finally to be restored.
A long-awaited council proposal to bring the historic structures back to their former glory is expected to get the go-ahead within days.
It is connected to Liverpool FC’s £300m plan to build a 60,000-seater stadium in part of the park, which is awaiting approval from councillors and the government.
Council officials insisted on the refurbishment of the grade II-listed green space’s rundown buildings, so the community would gain something in return for the loss of a section of the park to the stadium.
Now the project, which was first proposed several years ago, is due to be backed by councillors next week.
It would see the £25m restoration of:
The Isla Gladstone conservatory, built in 1899 to house exotic plants but derelict since the 1980s.
The bandstand next to the conservatory, including a new roof.
The red sandstone east, west and central pavilions, with replacement roofing and repairs to stone walls.
The boathouse plinth, once home to a Victorian boathouse but now earmarked for a viewing platform.
Five bridges, including the stone structure running between the two existing lakes in the north-west corner of Stanley Park.
The work is understood to cost about £25m and will be paid for by a European grant and money from the government’s neighbourhood renewal fund.
City planners say the work at Stanley Park, designed by Edward Kemp, the creator of Sefton and Birkenhead parks, should be approved.
Communities secretary Hazel Blears will have the final say, if she decides the plan requires further scrutiny.
Anfield councillor Andrew Tremarco said: “This is a fantastic scheme and it will turn Stanley Park into the jewel in the crown of north Liverpool again.
“Because of funding deadlines, this work must be completed by December next year, so the park will be restored long before the stadium is finished.”
The Friends of Stanley Park have raised concerns about parts of the scheme, such as the decision not to rebuild the boathouse and some restoration details.
But council officials believe the proposal is appropriate and will improve the park’s character and setting.
After submitting redrawn stadium plans, Liverpool FC hope to start work on the stadium by the end of the year, opening in time for the 2010 season.
Working glasshouse
THE Isla Gladstone conservatory will become north Liverpool’s equivalent of the Sefton Park palm house if restorations plans are approved.
The Grade II-listed structure, made of cast iron and glass, was built in 1899, designed by McKenzie and Moncur as a plainer version of the Sefton Park structure.
It was created as a working glasshouse to grow exotic plants and was last used as a pub and restaurant in the 1980s.
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