Working together to help improve Priory Park

Chichester District Council and Chichester City Council are looking at ways in which the popular park can be improved. The historic park contains three scheduled monuments; the City Walls, The Guildhall, and the remains of a Norman Motte.

"The park is popular with tourists and locals, and we will be working with the City Council to make sure that it continues to attract people to the area in the future," says Cllr Eileen Lintill, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Wellbeing at Chichester District Council.

"Chichester City Council has told us it would like to manage Priory Park in the future. It has formed a Localism Group who will be considering this and looking at the costs and practicalities involved. We welcome this initiative and are currently in discussions with the council to see how we can take this forward."

"The City Council has also agreed some resources to assist in future development of a master plan for the park. The existing master plan will need to be refreshed and reprioritised, and we are happy to work in partnership with the City Council to conduct this review and consult with the community. We will also work with the City Council to see what funding is available, such as Heritage Lottery Funding or Sports England Inspired Facility Funding."

Councillor Richard Plowman, Chairman of Chichester City Council's Finance Committee said: "We are pleased to be working closely with the District Council to ensure that the future for Priory Park meets the needs of all users, but remaining an important oasis of green space in the City. It is therefore important that investment and momentum for Priory Park is maintained."

Structural engineers have recently been appointed by the District Council to look at two areas of the park for improvements. They will assess the repair requirements for the historic wall and Hospitium structure in the park. They are also developing a stabilisation scheme for the Motte to protect and enhance the feature of the park. The Motte improvement works will be subject to English Heritage and Conservation Area Consent and a further report will be bought to the District Council's Cabinet after this.

This follows a number of recent improvements to the park totalling over £315,000. The work includes:

• the refurbishment of the Guildhall;
• a new play area;
• soft and hard landscaping; and,
• repairs to the footpath around the City Walls.

Many of these projects were delivered in partnership with Heritage Lottery Fund, Big Lottery Fund, SITA landfill tax, and developer contributions from Section 106. Work also continues on maintaining the park with regular tree inspections, day-to-day ground maintenance, pitch preparations, health and safety inspections, and special events management.

For more information on the plans for Priory Park, please contact the Sport Team at the council.

Date: 03 January 2012

Reference: 3046