£900K revamp scheme for park

From the archive, first published Friday 17th Jun 2005.

A WHOPPING £900,000 may be spent on Mary Stevens Park which delighted councillors say will turn it into `the gem in the crown of Dudley Council'.

The Norton park could get a new look - boasting a state of the art playground, a café, new railings, new entrance gates, conservation area and educational hotspot points.

Chairman of Friends of the Park, cllr Mike Attwood, said the group has ambitious plans to apply for a grant of up to £900,000 from the Heritage Lottery later this year - providing they can finance the ten per cent deposit of around £90,000.

The Norton councillor says he is quietly confident the group will get at least £650,000, as the Friends have already started to coin in the cash for the major revamp.

And they hope to get a £10,000 cash injection from Ernest Stevens Trust and Stourbridge Area Committee.

They also have cash left from an £80,000 Liveability grant awarded last year.

Cllr Attwood said the development would encourage more people to use the park.

He added: "I want to see more teenagers using the park and learning about its history - we hope to put information boards up.

"We also need to secure the park - at the moment we cannot shut the gates for health and safety reasons."

Friends of the Park vice-chairman, David Rogers, said: "It would be very good for the borough, it would be the gem in the crown of Dudley Council.

"It would develop the park's facilities and make it more beneficial for the community.

"We are even hoping to get Green Flag status, which would emphasise the fact it is a premiere park."

Cllr Attwood is confident work will be started on the playground by November this year.

He added: "We are holding a consultation meeting in July and we want people to come and have a look at the plans."

The consultation meeting takes place on July 20 at the Crystal Leisure Centre in Stourbridge at 7.30pm. Everybody is welcome.

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