Stamford Park Restoration

• Stamford Park Restoration Log
• Stamford Park Restoration

On this page you can find out all about the restoration works currently taking place at Stamford Park.

Please note that Stamford Park remains open during the restoration works although some areas are now fenced off. You can still access the play area and flower gardens. The Dingle is currently closed whilst the works take place. The bowling greens are currently closed for maintenance works.

Stamford Park Restoration Project Log

13 January 2011

The work to restore Stamford Park has now begun and you will see a lot more construction activity taking place in the park. The work will take about 16 months to complete as it will be carried out in phases. During this time there will be some disruption to park users but we will keep it to a minimum. Where areas or footpaths are closed we will put up signage to explain what is happening and diversions will be signposted. We look forward to having a restored park in the future which features the best of it's Victorian Heritage whilst having the 21st Century facilities people require.

Tree protection fencing is being erected this week. This fencing is placed around trees in particularly vulnerable locations and will provide protection to the trees and their roots whilst work is taking place. The fencing will remain in place for the duration of construction works.

2 February 2011

The contractors have fenced off and secured the area around the new pavilion building and erected tree protection fencing around the park to ensure that trees in vulnerable locations are protected from plant and other vehicles during the construction process. The fencing around the work areas ensures that both park users and construction workers are protected and will remain in place until work in those areas is completed. Signage is displayed on fenced areas explaining what works are taking place and will remain in place during the project. The contractors are also busy setting up their own compound within the park where they will have their own site offices and welfare facilities as well as storage areas for plant and materials. Once this has been established they can start work on the new pavilion building. Top soil removed from working areas is being stored adjacent to the Gardener's Lodge building and will be reused elsewhere in the park. Keeping materials on site is cost effective and is also better for the environment and we will do this wherever if it safe and economically better to do so.

Other work due to take place in the next couple of weeks includes works to the trees in the Dingle and beginning to open up the Dingle in preparation for other trades such as masons to start repairing the rock work in this area. A new entrance to the contractors compound will also be created on Astley Road in the next couple of weeks.

8 February 2011

Today we held a photocall in the park for the local press so they could find out more about the Project and publicise this. It was also a good opportunity to show the HLF around the works that have taken place so far.

21 April 2011

Works are progressing well on site although now a lot more work is taking place there is inevitably some disruption to park users and we have had to close off some footpaths where there is a lot of vehicular traffic. Please do not enter fenced of areas and please do not use footpaths where they are closed. Please remind your children of the importance of staying away from construction sites.

The excavations for the new Pavilion are underway and the waterproofing layer for the building has been laid. Today we met with the contractors who will be building the water feature which will sit between the Pavilion and play area and work will soon start on that.

The Boating Lake is currently being restored. The buildings were built in 1894 and considering there age aren't in bad condition. We have had to retile the roof extensively and are repointing and cleaning the brick work. We are providing disabled access and a whole new surfacing on the landing stage. Unfortunately this means we can't have the boating lake open for Easter but it will be open later in the summer.

The Dingle is progressing well with the restoration of some rockwork, desilting of ponds and improvements to footpaths. We realise that this area is popular but you must not enter this area whilst works are taking place. As soon as it is safe to do so we will re-open the Dingle.

Stamford Park Restoration

Stamford Park, situated between the towns of Ashton under Lyne and Stalybridge, dates from 1873 and is registered grade II on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens due to it’s historic importance. The park is very well loved by the local community however it is lacking some of the facilities people want to see in the park. Following consultation with the local community Tameside MBC have developed plans for the restoration of Stamford Park which will enhance the park and its facilities enabling a wider audience to visit the park. The physical works will involve new buildings, landscape restoration, improved play and enhanced planting. As well as the physical improvements there will be an emphasis on improving staffing levels in the park, events and activities for a wide range of visitors and volunteering opportunities.

The new pavilion

The new pavilion building will be located at the heart of the park behind the current bowling pavilion. It will provide a central meeting point for visitors and will be an attractive welcoming space throughout the year. The pavilion will feature a café, toilets, Park Manager’s office and information point, and community rooms. Within the pavilion you will be able to buy a coffee, sign up to an event in the park, attend a class in the community room and meet friends.

The building itself has been designed by OMI Architects, a practice with experience of delivering high quality buildings. The building has been designed to incorporate best practice in terms of sustainability. It will be heated through a ground source heat pump, has a green roof which people can walk on to and enjoy views across the park, and has been designed to maximise natural lighting. The building will have a brick exterior with an oak cladding on some areas and has been carefully designed to complement the landscape. The glazed elements of the building will also have bespoke screens which will provide security at night but will also be an attractive feature of the building in their own right.

The Aviary

Consultation showed that the small animals and birds in the aviary were an attraction for most people. Many people had been taken to the aviary as young children and were now taking their own children and maintaining the tradition of family days out in the park. The restoration of the park has allowed us to consider what is needed for the animals in terms of their enclosure, sleeping areas, housing, and care. We have worked with architects to design a new aviary which will enable us to house the animals in secure and appropriate conditions whilst still providing good visitor access. The aviary will be the front, public facing wall of the new depot and therefore easily accessible to staff so they will be able to meet the welfare needs of the animals. Once the aviary building has been completed we will stock it with a range of birds and small animals and we hope it will again become a central attraction within the park.

The Dingle

The Dingle is an important part of the Park’s history and has changed in character significantly over the years. The rock work which forms much of the Dingle’s character was constructed in 1898 by George Briggs, whose father Francis Briggs was landscape gardener to Joseph Paxton. The Dingle was very popular for strolling and the Tameside Local Studies Centre has fabulous photographs of ladies in period dress stood on the steps in the Dingle. The Dingle will be restored as part of the project and will involve repairs to the watercourses, rills and cascades and repairs to the stonework, a lot of which is now hidden from view and being damaged by trees growing through it. The principle footpath, currently prone to flooding, will be repaired and made accessible and there will be discrete interpretation along the path. Over the years the Dingle has become very overgrown with a lot of self sewn trees which are now blocking out growth and preventing a lot of ground cover plants from growing. As well as encouraging biodiversity removing some of the self sewn trees will also open up the sight lines within the park providing a greater sense of security within the Dingle. The Dingle is a very special place within the park and we intend to enhance the space so more people feel able to enjoy it.