LEICESTER’S Spinney Hill Park is set to benefit from almost £60,000 of planned improvements thanks to a successful bid for Government funding.
Leicester City Council has been awarded £85,000 from the Government’s Levelling Up Parks Programme – a £9milllion scheme funded by the Department of Levelling up Housing and Communities that aims to improve more than 100 parks across England.
At Spinney Hill Park, the new cash will pay for a range of improvements including refurbishing the park’s cricket backboard, sprucing up the tiered seating area and stone circle, repainting decorative railings and new tree planting.
Work will also be carried out on part of the Evington Brook, close to the viewing platforms, in Spinney Hill Park. This will involve removing silt build-up from the watercourse and clearing overgrown vegetation to help improve water flow and make the area more attractive to visitors.
The funding will also pay for new tree planting in neighbourhood housing estates in Braunstone, St Peter's, St Matthew’s, Eyres Monsell and Braunstone Frith.
Work will be carried out over the coming weeks.
Deputy City Mayor Cllr Piara Singh Clair, who leads on leisure and culture, said: “Spinney Hill Park is already a very attractive and well-used park. We’re very grateful that Leicester will benefit from the national Levelling Up Parks fund. The new cash will allow us to further improve some of the park’s facilities, carry out important work to the Evington Brook and help green up local neighbourhoods with new tree planting.”
The city council has also earmarked £150,000 of capital funding to revamp and refurbish the park’s existing play area.
Created in 1885, Spinney Hill Park is a popular park with 34 acres of sloping parkland with walks under shady tree avenues, playgrounds, and ball courts.