£130k project to see two Larne parks restored to their ‘former Edwardian glory’

Larne Town Park and Chaine Park will be upgraded as part of a “vision to restore the Town Park and Chaine Park to their former Edwardian glory”.

Proposals include a refurbishment of the railings surrounding James Chaine’s grave at a cost of £25k; new roofing and side panels for Chaine Park pergolas,  £20k; 20 new benches, £11k, picnic area beside Chaine grave and upgrade of footpaths, £31k.

In Larne Town Park, bandstand ceiling replacement and paintwork would cost £6,500 and tennis courts will be refurbished at a cost of £5,200 for repairs to walls and fencing.

Proposals also include new LED lighting in the town park at an estimated cost of £23,000.

Ornamental plants costing £15,000 will be displayed at Chaine Park with the creation of 11 planting areas.

The plans were presented at a meeting of the council’s Direct Services Committee on Tuesday evening by operations director and acting chief executive Philip Thompson.

Coast Road DUP Councillor Angela Smyth commented: “It is fantastic to see investment in these two parks. They are very well-used in the Larne area, especially over the past two years.”

She added that a running track could be another addition.

“The planting at Chaine Park will definitely be much-needed. The park is a little bit unloved at the minute. The planting will bring it back up-to-date.”

Larne Lough Alliance Cllr Danny Donnelly said: “These are very popular parks and very much in need of these works.”

He went on ask for clarification over the replacement of the toilet block with an associated ‘Changing Places’ facility.

Mr Thompson indicated that the new toilets will be progressed “in the area between the two parks.”

The exiting building may be fully demolished or refurbished after the toilet area is demolished with the potential to create a café in the remaining structure.

Cllr Donnelly continued: “I just wanted to make sure we are not going to leave the park without a public convenience.”

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter

--

Click here to read: Larne and Carrickfergus parks to progress subject to £0.3m funding availability

--

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.
Please consider purchasing a copy of the paper. You can also support trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription of the News Letter.