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Stalled road plan to seek new funding after Lottery setback
THE masterplan to change the face of Parliament Hill Fields, including a new road across Hampstead Heath, is still alive despite a bid for Lottery cash being thrown out last week.
Hampstead Heath chairman Bob Hall has admitted he was disappointed by the funding setback, but insists alternative sources of funding will now be sought. “The plans will not be mothballed,” he said. “We are seeking money elsewhere.”
The Heritage Lottery fund turned down an application by the City of London for a £3million grant to help pay for landscaping, repair work at the Lido, a new café and renovation of the changing rooms at the running track.
The trustees of the Heritage Lottery fund, chaired by Dame Jenny Abramsky, who lives in Dartmouth Park, said the scheme did not offer value for money, but have yet to make public exactly what aspects they were unhappy about. The plans had attracted bitter controversy over a proposal to run a vehicle-only track from Gordon House Road up to the Parliament Hill staff yard. While that argument rumbles on, Heath Superintendent Simon Lee said improvements to the Lido may now be delayed. “There are a number of things that need doing and I have to now consider what the priorities are,” he said. “We did a lot of work on this and got a lot of positive responses, but it was done during August and I have sympathy with people who had issues they wanted to bring up.” |
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