Work to restore Victorian parks

The 1950s bandstand was demolished as part of the revamp

Restoration work on the second phase of the Victorian Avenham and Miller parks in Preston is due to start.

A £2.35m grant from the North West Development Agency and the Heritage Lottery Fund will return the parks to original designs drawn up in the 1860s.

The work, starting on Monday, will see the planting of almost 500 new trees and 32,000 plants.

The parks have been described as gems in the Lancashire city and the work is due to be completed by November 2010.

Old photographs

Councillor Ken Hudson, leader of Preston City Council, said: "Avenham and Miller Parks are city gems and restoring them to the original vision of Edward Milner will ensure that the people of Preston are able to boast two of the most beautiful parks in the country for generations to come.

"With the Guild in 2012 fast approaching, the parks will be a wonderful venue for staging events and showing Preston off in a fantastic light."

As part of the project, Preston City Council has released a number of old photographs of the parks on their website which show the original designs of the parks.

Phase one of the revamp was launched in March 2006 with the demolition of the 1950s bandstand.