Green spaces across the UK have been awarded £34m of lottery funding to transform facilities, install new technology and revitalise community gardens.

Cash from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Big Lottery Fund will be invested in 16 spaces including Great Yarmouth’s 1928 Venetian waterways, Stoke-on-Trent’s Victorian Hanley Park and Preston’s Georgian era Winkley Square Gardens.

Funding will be used to install public wi-fi at Peel Park, Salford, while supporting the harnessing of renewable energy from a pond in Stafford’s Victoria Park.

Belfast City Cemetery will receive £1.8m to support the restoration of listed features and creation of a new visitor centre, information boards, maps and publications for visitors.

HLF’s chair Sir Peter Luff, said: ‘We all benefit from spending time outside in the fresh air, so it’s vital that we look after our green spaces, particularly in dense urban areas. National Lottery players’ money will give a boost to each of these 16 historic places, helping make sure they have a great future.’

Around £14m has been pledged to seven sites on the basis of the successful development of further plans, with locations such as Hackney’s Springfield Park poised to receive £3.1m and Hunstanton Heritage Gardens in West Norfolk £685,000.

Cabinet member for regeneration and industrial assets at King's Lynn & West Norfolk BC – who submitted the funding bid for Hunstanton Heritage Gardens - Cllr Alistair Beales, said: ‘The borough council worked closely with local people in Hunstanton to put together this bid and it's very gratifying to see that the HLF and Big Lottery Fund have recognised the vital importance of The Green, the Esplanade Gardens and Cliff Parade within Hunstanton.’

The full list of parks and cemeteries receiving funding today are:

Earmarked funding:
West Smethwick Park, Sandwell - £4,830,700
Victoria Park, Stafford - £1,705,100
Hunstanton Heritage Gardens, West Norfolk - £685,400
Great Yarmouth Venetian Waterways - £1,020,800
Springfield Park, Hackney - £3,194,100
Thompson Park, Burnley - £860,100
London Road Cemetery, Coventry - £1,998,000

Confirmed grants:
Chase Park, Gateshead - £922,900
Peel Park, Salford - £1,572,800
Winckley Square Gardens, Preston - £942,600
Northwood Cemetery, Isle of Wight £1,685,100
Hanley Park, Stoke on Trent - £4,579,300

HLF only funded grants:
Belfast Cemetery (earmarked funding)- £1,852,800
Stornoway Castle Grounds - £3,903,600
Dean Castle Country Park, East Ayrshire - £3,338,900
Wrexham Cemetery - £1,190,000

Photo: © Andrew Tatlow