Victoria Park in Portsmouth - advanced plans revealed for £2m lottery-funded revamp

Portsmouth City Council has detailed its plans which include the construction of a new 'community hub', upgrades to the aviary, a new play area and the restoration of its fountain and mounuments.

Cabinet member for leisure, councillor Ben Dowling, said the project would 'restore its historic features' while also creating 'a welcoming green space'.

In 2019, the council was awarded £250,000 through the National Lottery Heritage Fund to cover the cost of drawing up plans for the submission of a larger bid of just over £2 million.

Consultations have taken place since then to work out what to include in the final. The council said more than 2,500 people and community groups had taken part.

The city council has now published detailed designs of its proposals, including the construction of a new 'community hub' with accessible public toilets and a multi-purpose function space on the site of the existing depot.

Alongside this, would be renovations to and the upgrade of the aviary and repairs and cleaning of the park's monuments, entrances and fountain.

A new children's play area is also proposed.

These plans have been published ahead of the final submission of a bid for a £2 million National Lottery Heritage Fund. A decision on whether this has been successful is expected in November.

'We've been able to work closely with the local community to take a close look at how people use the park now and how they'd like to use it in future,' Cllr Dowling said. 'We’ve talked to people about what the park means to them and how we can improve it in a way that celebrates its heritage, restores its historic features and creates a welcoming green space for everyone in the city today.

'If we're successful, we look forward to working with residents and community groups to develop the plans further and bring these ideas to life.'

Should the funding be awarded, the council said work would start early next year and would be completed by early 2026.