Enjoy improvements to Chichester’s Priory Park as part of #LoveParks week

The works took place behind the brick pavilion building and involved demolishing and removing the council’s old depot building and replacing it with a new footpath that now links the sensory garden to the rest of the park.

The flint wall has been conserved and alterations have also been made to the outbuildings at the rear of the brick pavilion to provide a new store for the council’s parks and gardens team. In addition, a new information board about the park has been installed thanks to funding that Chichester District Council received from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

In addition, repairs have been made to the foul water drainage system, which runs through this part of the park. This means that the council will also be able to carry out planned improvements to the park’s public conveniences.

“We’re really pleased to have these works completed just as we are marking #LoveParks week - they really do make a difference to the views and accessibility from that part of the park,” explains Harsha Desai, the council’s Cabinet Member for Growth and Place. “This work has been a very important first step in a much wider package of improvements to the park. These will include starting work to refurbish the public conveniences later this year and looking at what we can do to bring the brick pavilion building back into regular use.

“Priory Park is a really beautiful space which is cherished by many residents and visitors to the city and these improvements have made the area feel much more open and accessible.

“Our district has so many wonderful parks and open spaces, including South Pond in Midhurst, Bishop’s Palace Gardens in Chichester and East Beach in Selsey. Having these spaces makes a huge difference to people’s health and wellbeing and as part of #LoveParks week we’ve been sharing some facts and figures about our parks and it would be great to hear from people about what they love about these spaces.”

Chichester District Council’s 12-strong parks and gardens team cares for, and manages, 117 acres of land across the district including parks; gardens; ponds; sports pitches; play areas; local nature reserves; and, open spaces.

Significant consideration goes into what is planted including the environment; and the special measures that the council can take to conserve water supplies. The team even places water bags around some of the bases of its trees to allow for a slow constant feed to avoid constant watering.

The council has also been creating naturalised areas across its parks, gardens and open spaces to attract wildlife, bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, with food and shelter throughout the year.

People can find out more by searching for #LoveParks across all the council’s social media channels.