After the wettest year in living memory, Birmingham’s first new park for 130 years is set to be officially opened bang on schedule next week.
Birmingham City Council and its regeneration partners, Wates Construction and landscape architect, Patel Taylor, will host an after-dark festive light switch on to unveil Eastside City Park on Wednesday, December 5 at an invitation-only event.
Sir Albert Bore will formally declare the £11.75 million park open on behalf of Birmingham City Council.
He will be joined by Andy Hands, business manager for Wates Construction Midlands, Patel Taylor director Andrew Taylor and Millennium Point Trustee, Richard Green.
Refreshments will be served from 4.30pm at Millennium Point before Coun Bore’s welcome address from 5pm and other speeches.
The site will be formally opened at 5.30pm with the switching on of the park’s lights, which have been planned as a safety feature of the overall design.
Work on the 6.2-acre park began in August last year.
Stretching from the city centre out into Eastside, past Curzon Street Station and Millennium Point, Eastside City Park will provide 14,300 square metres of landscaped green space.
Features include 310 trees, formal lawns, public squares and a 188-metre canal feature which incorporates 21 jet fountains.
Many of the trees have been imported from the continent, but none are ash trees in the wake of the ‘ash dieback’ crisis.
