Improved facilities at California Country Park are more than just Wokingham dreaming
Plans to revamp a Finchampstead Country Park, Wokingham are now more than just California dreaming, after the project received a boost from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) earlier this month.
Wokingham Borough Council’s countryside service is looking at ways to improve California Country Park, to ensure that it meets the community’s needs and is a bustling park with activities available all year round.
An application to the HLF to upgrade the park, through its Parks for People scheme, has passed the first hurdle, after the Wokingham borough council’s preliminary bid to help plan the project was approved earlier this month.
The council’s countryside service will now use this £13,500 grant to conduct visitor surveys and ask the community what it wants to see at the park. With the help of local residents, community groups, local councillors and businesses the project board will then pull together a vision for the park and submit it to the HLF for full funding.
The vision for the park could include improving transport links, developing the cultural history of the park, improving recreational opportunities, installing new play equipment and improving pedestrian access to the country park in Nine Mile Ride.
A stakeholder group, including community and business representatives will be meeting regularly to help drive the vision forward and to promote public consultation.
If the project bid passes the next stage of the application this autumn a second stage with further detail would take place in 2009. The HLF would then make a decision in 2010 and if successful, work would be completed by summer 2011.
Cllr Simon Weeks, executive member for Wokingham environment, said: “Gaining funding to outline an upgrade of California Country Park is great news, as it means we can really push on with creating a vision for the park that makes our community proud.”
“It is a long process that relies on the Heritage Lottery Fund approving the scheme and releasing full funding, but if we do get the grant it could mean a whole host of improvements are put in place at the park, which the community has told us it wants to see there.”
Wokingham Borough Council’s countryside service is looking at ways to improve California Country Park, to ensure that it meets the community’s needs and is a bustling park with activities available all year round.
An application to the HLF to upgrade the park, through its Parks for People scheme, has passed the first hurdle, after the Wokingham borough council’s preliminary bid to help plan the project was approved earlier this month.
The council’s countryside service will now use this £13,500 grant to conduct visitor surveys and ask the community what it wants to see at the park. With the help of local residents, community groups, local councillors and businesses the project board will then pull together a vision for the park and submit it to the HLF for full funding.
The vision for the park could include improving transport links, developing the cultural history of the park, improving recreational opportunities, installing new play equipment and improving pedestrian access to the country park in Nine Mile Ride.
A stakeholder group, including community and business representatives will be meeting regularly to help drive the vision forward and to promote public consultation.
If the project bid passes the next stage of the application this autumn a second stage with further detail would take place in 2009. The HLF would then make a decision in 2010 and if successful, work would be completed by summer 2011.
Cllr Simon Weeks, executive member for Wokingham environment, said: “Gaining funding to outline an upgrade of California Country Park is great news, as it means we can really push on with creating a vision for the park that makes our community proud.”
“It is a long process that relies on the Heritage Lottery Fund approving the scheme and releasing full funding, but if we do get the grant it could mean a whole host of improvements are put in place at the park, which the community has told us it wants to see there.”
Wokingham Borough Council
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