Work starts on £5m park facelift

Clifton Park Museum was refurbished in 2004

Work has started on a £5m project to transform Rotherham's Clifton Park.

Money from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund is being used to repair the memorial garden, cenotaph, rock garden and the bandstand.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held in the sunken garden to mark the start of the work.

Visitors saw tree-felling and chainsaw carving demonstrations. Rotherham Council said the project would be completed by next August.

Councillor Gerald Smith, cabinet member for regeneration, said: "Clifton park is a much-loved and much-used facility enjoyed by thousands of visitors from both Rotherham and beyond each year and this work will result in vital improvements that will make it even more attractive to the public."

The lottery grants are also funding a water play area to replace a 70-year-old paddling pool and open up neglected pathways.

New toilets and a bowling pavilion will also be built. Trees will be pruned or removed and their timber recycled to provide building materials for the new facilities.

The Grade II listed park houses the Clifton Park Museum, which underwent a £3m refurbishment in 2004.