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Lottery pledges to open up historic Catton
landscape to public for first time
The Catton Park Trust has received a funding
pledge of up to £700,000 from the Heritage Lottery
Fund (HLF) to provide a new public park from
a Grade II registered Repton landscape in Catton,
on the outskirts of Norwich. HLF has
awarded £128,000 to help draw up more detailed proposals,
which if successful will see the roll-out of
a further £578,000 to develop the site for the benefit of
the local community.
Funding will enable the acquisition of the
leasehold of the site and its development as a sustainable park, opening up this important landscape
for unrestricted public access for the first time. Physical work will include returning arable land to
grassland, restoring boundary woodland, setting up boundary hedges and some internal fencing to create a
dog free area, installing park seating and putting up information boards that will enable visitors
to learn about the history of the area.
In addition there are proposals for nature
and sculpture trails, information leaflets will be produced
and links forged with local schools to
promote the site as an educational resource. The project will
also provide costs for a park warden for
five years who will enhance the profile of the park as a cared
for facility and promote activities such as
riding for the disabled, orienteering for young people and
guided walks that will involve local people
as actively as possible.
Robyn Greenblatt, HLF’s Regional Manager in
the East of England comments; ‘This project offers a
great opportunity to open up a beautiful
rural area for everyone in and around Norwich to explore and
enjoy. We look forward to working up final
plans with the Trust to ensure that they offer the greatest
potential benefit for the local community
and assist in the long term conservation of this wonderful
landscape.’
Ken Leggett, Broadland District Councillor
and Secretary of Catton Park Trust adds; ‘The Park will
provide enjoyment and pleasure for a wide
range of local people, and will safeguard this natural gem
in an otherwise urban area. This is an
exciting challenge, and although there is more hard work to
be done, it is an important step forward.
‘The
project has been considerably assisted by the input of the major
landowner, Andrew Buxton,
who has offered a 30 year
lease on 50 acres of the land, and a 10 year lease on South Lodge,
which would be used by the
park warden.’
Norfolk County Councillor Derek Turnbull,
Cabinet member for Finance, Property, Personnel &
Corporate Affairs adds; ‘This is great news
and a real credit to Ken Leggett and his team.
I'm very pleased the County Council has
played such an important part in helping the scheme
reach this stage by making some 19 acres of
land available at a peppercorn rent.
‘The County Council has worked
constructively with many partners, including Norwich City Council,
Broadland District Council, Old Catton
Parish Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund, to achieve this
positive outcome. Clearly there is more work
to be done, but we are right on track to achieve a
fantastic result for the people of Norwich
and Norfolk.’
The park’s late 18th century
design was Humphry Repton’s first paid commission and occupies 28
hectares. At present an average of only
50-60 people per day are able to access this land, a
discretion of the landlord that could be
withdrawn at any time. This project would provide six new
entry points for a guaranteed period of 30
years, including access to Church Street Middle School
from the Fiddlewood estate.
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