Getting Cumbria Buzzing

Students and staff from Lakes College West Cumbria attended Jubilee Park, Harrington to plant nearly 200 spring bulbs as part of Get Cumbria Buzzing and to complement the regeneration work taking place through the 'Pocket Parks' initiative.

• The bulbs have been sponsored by Harrington's, Ladies Over 55's Club.

The park is benefiting from a grant of £25,500 from the government’s £3.75million Pocket Parks Plus programme, which has been established to give communities the means to better maintain, protect and enhance their treasured green spaces. It is one of around 150 community-led project that will receive funding to make improvements to bring parks back into use. The Pocket Parks grant will be supplemented by additional funding from Allerdale Borough Council.

The improvements at Jubilee Park will include re-surfacing of existing paths, creation of a new path to enable a circular walk, boundary fencing, new tree and shrub planting, creation of a wildflower meadow, seating and natural play features.

The grant has been secured through the ongoing partnership between Allerdale Borough Council and the Friends of Harrington Nature Reserve, which was also instrumental in enabling the restoration of the nearby “rezzer” in 2018. Jubilee Park is located immediately next to the nature reserve, meaning there will now be improvements to even more outdoor space for local residents to enjoy.

Michael Heaslip, Allerdale Borough Council’s Executive member with responsibility for environmental quality, said: ”Jubilee Park is a significant area of public green space, but is under-used and the infrastructure is in poor condition. Securing the Pocket Parks Plus funding will enable us to breathe new life into the park so that it becomes a real asset for the whole community to enjoy.”