Burslem Park s ongoing restoration work .

I asked Tom Pine the Urban Parks Ranger about the missing entrance gates at the Park , he gave me the following information.

All of the Victorian park gates are being restored, and are being taken away one by one to be stripped down, filled in, and recoated. The exception is the 1950s gate opposite the Vale Cafe, which is being replaced, and there will also be a new gate opposite the Park Inn. You may have noticed that the pillars on Hamil Road are also gone - this was to make space for large cranes to enter the park, because the cupola (bell tower) needed to be removed from the pavilion and will be put back on 29th of this month.

Among the other exciting things going on are a (temporary) switch-on for the two terrace garden fountains, which are newly restored and haven't worked (to the best of our knowledge) since 1895; this will take place (subject to weather etc) on 6 December at 1pm. They will be switched on for good in 2012.

This is all part of the current £2m restoration project, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund. It's well worth popping in to the park, as there is a huge amount going on at the moment. The work will finish in the spring.

Thanks
Tom

the Burslem Parks newsletter can be viewed below.
http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/stream/asset/?asset_id=103380