Bracknell

Representatives from community groups who have helped with the restoration of Lily Hill Park will see the Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest officially open the project’s second phase.

Organisations including the Friends of Lily Hill Park, the Bracknell Gardening Club and local conservation volunteer groups have helped over the 10 year project, which now reflects Victorian and 1930s landscape designs and planting.

The project has also used the knowledge of tree experts, horticulturalists, landscapers, environmentalists and technicians, and the support of schools and young people’s groups - who have enjoyed many hours of environmental fun and continue to breathe life into the park.

The work has been funded by two Heritage Lottery Fund grants worth a combined £2million, which was inspired by a report in 1997 detailing a long term plan for the park, which had become overgrown.

The second phase has restored the western section of the park with Victorian and 1930s features, including a ha ha sunken fence, landscaping with flowers and shrubs, a paved walkway, new oak trees and an extension of the footpath network.

During the work, 82 examples of rare rhododendron were found in Starch Copse, which the Royal Horticultural Society has asked the Bracknell Council to protect and reproduce. The breeds, which could be more than 100 years old, include Pelopidas, Sappho and Mrs Lionel de Rothschild.

Work on the first phase was started in March 2003 and concluded with its official opening in June 2005 by the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

It restored the Victorian east side of the park, including opening up lost views, formalising paths, clearing overgrown shrubs and trees, recreating wild flower meadows, re-establishing historic tree planting and resurfacing the main carriage drive.

New benches, seats, fencing and gates were also installed to improve the park as a place to visit and enjoy.

Dina Thorpe, Heritage Lottery Fund South East England Committee Member, said: "The wonderful thing about the UK's parks is that they are as much a part of our daily life as they were for the Victorians who created them.

"Lily Hill Park is a great example of this, with thousands of people coming to relax away from the bustle of modern life and its great to see it restored to former glory."

Cllr Clifton Thompson, Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest, said: "Lily Hill Park is much appreciated by not only the people who live around it, but people from across Bracknell Forest, and I am delighted to see it restored to its former glory.

"The huge rise in visitor numbers and overwhelming enthusiasm for the project is testimony to the great efforts of a dedicated team and to the park's future prosperity, and I urge those who have not been to visit and see it for themselves

"I would like to thank all the staff, contractors, but especially the volunteers who have given their time to make Lily Hill Park a wonderful community resource to be enjoyed by everyone."

Bracknell Forest Borough Council