£4.13m Egerton Park scheme set to go to next stage

Rother cabinet will be recommended to seek Lottery cash and commit 1,031m-worth of council funding.

Monday's 2.30pm Town Hall meeting will receive a report from director of services Tony Leonard.

His six-point recommendation is for the cabinet to resolve:

*To submit a 163,592 Parks For People bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund in March

*To continue to develop the project with a 4.135m Stage Two submission

*To meet a 28,486 shortfall in the necessary 25% partnership funding for Stage 1 from the grounds maintenance contract by deferring repairs for two years

*To commit Rother's 1.031m 25% Stage Two partnership funding from the authority's capital receipts and other sources

*For tendering and the award of contracts to proceed

*To commit an additional 17,282 a year in on-going revenue costs to manage and maintain the park from 2015.

Rother was awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund project planning grant for the Egerton Park scheme in June 2006.

Consultants were appointed that September to undertake most of this work.

The project planning work established the park's place as "an historic designed landscape" closely linked to the town and with a colourful social and cultural history and ecological value that was potentially of regional significance, provided that current loss of "design coherence and diminished connectivity to the town were addressed."

The study showed that the park has "the potential to be of high amenity value attracting increased use from existing user groups and new audiences and bringing about a range of benefits," says Mr Leonard.

"Egerton Park Innovation and Conservation Project (EPIC) seeks to achieve this by accommodating a wide range of users, restoring connectivity between the park and other places of interest locally, promoting security, ensuring regular maintenance, preserving and enhancing the park's heritage, facilitating access in its widest sense, developing the park as a cultural and learning environment and promoting it as a wider visitor destination."

In a risk assessment statement, Mr Leonard says failure to invest in the park will result in decreased use by the public, piecemeal and unsatisfactory repairs and renewal, misuse of the park and a squandered opportunity to create a facility of excellence which could add value to other local regeneration initiatives.

"It is unlikely that any other further major grant opportunities will arise so failure to submit an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund diminishes any future investment opportunities for the park.

"The HLF is anticipating a bid from Rother in March 2008 as they advise that fewer applications will be submitted at that time. There are only two applications rounds in 2008 so failure to submit an application by March means this bid will be placed against more bids in the September 2008 round and may lose the opportunity for the grant."