Setback for £2m park upgrade plan

A £2m project to revamp a park in Suffolk has suffered a setback after funding for the scheme was turned down.

Plans to restore the 67-acre Holywells Park in Ipswich include improvements to a Grade II listed orangery and stable block.

Ipswich Borough Council and the Friends of Holywells Park group had hoped the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund would back the project.

The council said it was "very disappointed" with the decision.

We will continue to look for ways to deliver our concept at Holywells Park Judy Terry, Ipswich borough councillor

The funding bid was for a plan to restore Holywells Park over a number of years, with part of the focus on refurbishing the orangery and stable block.

They are the last remaining remnants of a mansion which once stood in the park.

Other proposed improvements included the installation of boardwalks and creation of fishing platforms and work on the park's pond system.

Councillor Judy Terry, from Ipswich Borough Council, said: "We will continue to look for ways to deliver our concept at Holywells Park."

While Holywells Park missed out on funding, parks in Newcastle, West Bromwich, Plymouth, Newark and Worcester were awarded Lottery grants totalling £14m.