A Lotto waiting for Arboretum revamp; BID: May date revealed for multi-million pound makeover plans.Byline: By Tony Deeley COUNCIL leisure bosses must wait a while longer to see if their multi-million lottery bid to transform Walsall Arboretum Walsall Arboretum is a public park in Walsall, West Midlands. It comprises a number of distinct areas, including:
A bid for almost pounds 5 million has been submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund to help finance the pounds 8 million restoration of the flagship Arboretum arboretum: see botanical garden. arboretum Place where trees, shrubs, and sometimes herbaceous plants are cultivated for scientific and educational purposes. An arboretum may be a collection in its own right or a part of a botanical garden. . Early indications were that a decision would be made public around the end of March. But Tim Challans, Walsall Council's assistant director for leisure and culture, said today: "We have now been told a decision is likely to be announced To be announced (TBA) A contract for the purchase or sale of an MBS to be delivered at an agreed-upon future date but does not include a specified pool number and number of pools or precise amount to be delivered. in May. "Unfortunately, we are very much in the hands of the Heritage Lottery Fund on this. It is a very professional organisation Noun 1. professional organisation - an organization of and for professional people professional organization organization, organisation - a group of people who work together that deals with thousands of applications for funding every year and we must be guided by them as far as the timescale is concerned. "I'm afraid we must wait a while longer to hear if we have been successful. We are still very hopeful that our bid will be a success." The Arboretum, with 40 acres of open space, was laid out in Victorian times and is a much-loved area used by generations of people just yards from the town centre. Work proposed under the scheme includes restoring the landscape and buildings, including the bandstand and boathouse, and building a brand new visitor and education centre housing a cafeteria cafeteria: see restaurant. and new toilets near to the centre green off Arboretum Road. Three months of consultation took place to give people a say in how the plans were shaped. Mr Challans said: "Our plans will affect the lives of so many people if they are successful and there has been such a lot of interest, which is great. "We want to keep people informed as much as we can, which is why we are letting people know we are still waiting to hear a decision from the Heritage Lottery fund on our exciting plans." If successful, the restoration programme will take shape between 2009 and 2012 with the aim of restoring the historic core of the park to its former glory and bring it into the 21st Century. Land occupied by the Arboretum was once at the southern boundary of Cannock Forest - a great medieval royal hunting ground. CAPTION(S): WAITING GAME... Walsall Arboretum. |
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