green+spaces+-+local+parks+-+lordship+rec+-+updates+-+May+08

= **- Lordship Rec Lottery Success!** = The Lordship Rec bid to the Lottery to regenerate Tottenham's largest green space has been successful. This is great news for the people of Tottenham and their largest and - until recently - most neglected green space. Congratulations goes to all those who contributed to, publicised or supported the Lordship Rec improvement efforts during the last 6-7 years, especially the Friends of Lordship Rec and the Council's Recreation Services. All that hard work, determination, care and patience - and most of all vision and belief - has paid off....

Joint Lottery/Council Official Statement - 7.5.2008
 * Lottery grant paves way for Lordship Recreation Ground transformation**

Plans to restore a 1930s park to its former glory have taken a major stride forward after Haringey Council was awarded a £235,000 development grant from the National Lottery.

The award for Lordship Recreation Ground from the Parks for People initiative, run by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund, will further develop the council’s £6.274million scheme to transform and regenerate this much-loved park.

The redevelopment plans, drawn up in consultation with the park’s Friends group and local residents, include building a new environment centre and a city farm within the N17 park.

If successful in its second funding bid, the council will also uncover the currently culverted River Moselle, which runs through the park, and restore the Shell Theatre and Model Traffic Area, set up in 1938 to teach children about road safety by enabling them to ride bikes and toy cars in a safe environment.

In addition, there are planned improvements to planting, trees, paths, fencing and the park’s lake.

The council hopes that the transformation proposals would lead to a seven-fold increase in visitors to the park, from 55,000 to 355,000 people a year.

Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Dhiren Basu, said: //“I’m delighted that the Lottery has recognised the potential of our plans, which we hope would transform Lordship Rec into one of the most popular parks in north London. The park has some extremely unusual features, but it needs a major facelift to restore it to its former glory. I’m also very excited about the plans for the new environmental centre and the city farm. I’d like to thank the local community – and in particular the Friends of Lordship Rec – for their valuable contribution to these plans, and I hope our second funding bid proves successful.”//

Dave Morris from the Friends of Lordship Rec said: //"We and the council have worked very hard together over the last five years and have demonstrated what can be achieved by determined community-led partnership working. We are thrilled that the much needed improvements can now go ahead. It’s no more than the people of Tottenham deserve for our largest green space."//

Head of HLF in London, Sue Bowers, said: //“We’re delighted that Haringey has been given the green light to develop their exciting plans. Heritage lottery money has already played a vital role in the renaissance of the UK’s parks for more than a decade but there is much more to be done. This scheme is designed to get the local community really involved and to ensure a much-improved environment and standard of living for all those who use the park.”//