Knowsley teases revamp of Halewood’s Grace Park
A fly-through video has been released showcasing the council’s plans to refresh the 17.5-acre green space, part of its wider £30m investment in the town.
Grace Park sits between Wood Road and Beechwood Ave in Halewood. Surrounded largely by houses, it currently suffers from flooding issues, poor pedestrian access, and tired play equipment.
Knowlsey Council is ready to change that through an application that will be determined at next month’s planning committee meeting.
The local authority, working with lead consultant WSP, has visions to turn the park into a Green Flag standard facility with new playing fields, a clubhouse, a refreshed playground, cycle paths, more pedestrian access points, and a 47-bay car park.
The fields will go from being natural grass to being artificial, with one of them full-size and the other suitable for five-by-five football matches.
A sustainable urban drainage system with ponds and rain gardens will mitigate the current flooding issues on the site.
The new playground will have two different areas – one for younger children and the others for those between the ages of eight and 13. There will also be an adventure trail to link the two playgrounds.
Designed by Steve Wells Associates, the 3,200 sq ft club house will host food and drink facilities, changing rooms, and toilets.
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The improvements to Grace Park are funded through Knowsley Council’s successful £15.3m Levelling Up Fund award from 2023, £2.5m from the City Region sustainable Travel Settlement, and £13m from Section 106 contributions.
The developer contributions stem from the 200-acre East of Halewood masterplan for 1,500 homes. Redrow, Bellway, and Miller Homes are among the housebuilders active on the masterplan sites.
Funds are also going towards the improvement of the Volair Halewood Leisure Centre.
In addition to WSP and Steve Wells Associates, the project team includes Survey Operations, Wardell Armstrong, Ascerta, and SureScreen Scientifics.
You can learn more about the park plans by searching reference 26/00037/KMBC1 on Knowsley Council’s planning portal.
