Corporation Park set for £750k worth of funding secured by Blackburn Council through Levelling Up scheme

Corporation Park is set to benefit from £750,000 of new funding successfully secured by Blackburn with Darwen Council.

It’s one of many important projects across the town and borough that will share an impressive £20m from the new Levelling Up Partnership with the Government.

The good news comes just days after it was also revealed that funding has been secured from Historic England to support plans to restore the park’s historic conservatory.

Join our new WhatsApp Community to get the latest news and top stories from across Lancashire directly to your phone.

And work is set to start next week on revamping the tennis courts there too – again after new funding was secured by the Council.

Councillor Quesir Mahmood, the Council’s Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Growth and Development, said: “For generations, Corporation Park has been enjoyed by residents and visitors to Blackburn.

“Indeed, there’s a fascinating report from its grand opening in 1857 that says 60,000 people turned out for the ceremony with shops closing at noon and workers being allowed home early to join in the celebrations.

“Sadly though, with the huge budget pressures the Council has faced, we’ve seen the park decline, against all of our wishes, and so this new funding is very much welcome.

We’re now in the process of finalising our business plan with the Government for how the £750,000 will be spent at Corporation Park and can’t wait to be able to announce more details!”

At the beginning of March, it was announced that Blackburn with Darwen Council has successfully secured £20m of new Levelling Up funding – taking the grand total to £125m.

At the heart of the bid is £8m to renovate the ever-popular King George’s Hall – the jewel in the crown of Blackburn’s £50m Cultural Quarter.

There’s also investment for the likes of The Exchange, Imperial Mill and Tony’s Ballroom.

At Corporation Park, visitors can enjoy a busy playground, multi-use games area, cycle tracks, bowling greens and scenic walks.

The tennis courts are set to be transformed in the coming weeks too with £45,000 secured from the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) through their Parks Investment Program.

Get the latest headlines, straight to your inbox, with The LEP’s free emails

There’s an active Corporation Park Supporters Group made up of volunteers helping to protect and improve the quality of the park for the community to enjoy.

Welcoming the new £750,000 of funding, the group’s chair, Nicola Beswick said: “This funding gives the opportunity to address some of the long-term maintenance issues to ensure existing features in the park can be enjoyed in future years.

“Equally it gives the chance to create new features that can both better serve our diverse local communities and attract new visitors from near and far.

“Corporation Park Supporters Group are looking for volunteers who are keen to get involved. Anyone interested should contact us at: [email protected].”