Princes Park was first opened in 1842 by Sir Joseph Paxton, who was one of the key designers of this new area. Located south of the city centre, and in close proximity to the much larger Sefton Park, Princes Park has become an area of great natural beauty.
Once it was opened, the park become home to many affluent people being located near the lavish Georgian Quarter area of the city. It had fair rides, hot air balloon experiences and somewhere for boats – with a large boathouse located on the lake right in the centre of the park.
However, after being damaged in the Second World War, the park never fully recovered and with the turbulent social climate of the 70s and 80s, it fell into a place of ruin, vandalism and decay, with the boathouse being burnt down in an arson attack during the 1990s. Many residents wanted to turn it back into a place that was welcoming and a pillar of the local community once more.
With no support from the Council, ‘Friends of Princes Park’ was born and completely transformed the park over the next few decades helping restore it to its former glory
Credit Friends of Princes Park
Mersey News Live spoke to Kathy, one of the co-founders of Friends of Princes Park, about how the group first came to fruition.
“Friends of princes park are a group of local people. Our main aim is to keep the park looking as beautiful as possible and to make it as inclusive as possible, but also to preserve and maintain wildlife. We also do lots of work with local communities and schools, educating people on the importance of looking after green spaces, through conservation and keeping things clean and tidy.
“I’ve been involved since the beginning. I’ve lived here by the park since 1979, but I was very busy as a I was a GP and I never really got to come to the park, which sounds terrible now! But after coming to the park more when my son was born I realised that things weren’t in a good state. So, along with some friends, we decided to setup the friends of princes park group in 2005 and we’ve grown and grown, over these past 19 years.”
Kathy, spoke about the how badly it had lost its way and needed major refurbishments to become what it once was.
It’s just amazing how the park has changed since we started the group back in 2005.
“The council had no money, they neglected parks and didn’t see them as a priority across Liverpool. Princes Park back then had lots of dangerous dogs, people were frightened to come here, it had very few benches, lots of litter and none of the trees or plants were being looked after. The lake was also in a bad state, this was one of the groups main aims – to get the lake refurbished, so that it could become a home once more to wildlife and so on. We’ve estimated that since we restored the lake and helped improve the healthiness of the trees, there has been at least 15 new species of birds found in the park.”
Credit Friends of Princes Park
Although, Friends of Princes Park could not be prouder of the job they have done they are conscious of the fact that areas kept like this are in short supply across the country, especially in major cities. The group hope that the park can live healthily for generations, and deal with the potential threats of climate change.
“We’ve got people that bring their children along when volunteering and also University students that help us out. I’m kind of hopeful for the future, I think that many young people have a great awareness of climate change and the importance of looking after natural green spaces. They are also aware of the potential loss of habitat, the need for bio diversity – so in that respect I am hopeful that the work that we have done with the Princes Park group can be carried on by those who are younger. Continuing to make the Park a welcoming and safe area to go to.”
Images Credit – Friends of Princes Park
