St James' Park - A Park for the People

Great news for St James’ Park and the people of Shirley… In October 2008 the Friends of St James’ Park and the council won a bid to the Parks for People lottery scheme. The park has been awarded £64,500 to develop plans for an improvement scheme totalling £1.5million.

Detailed designs will be drawn up over the next six months to fully revitalise the park for the 21st century. Plans include refurbishing the building which is a former air raid warden shelter. This will provide a café, community rooms, ranger base and toilets. The scheme will improve the provision of formal and informal play which will be designed by local children and provide features for all ages. The popular tennis courts will be refurbished and two new entrances will be created and other entrances upgraded to improve access to the park. Additionally the project will enhance biodiversity with botanical and scenic walks. The lottery money will be used to restore and enhance the park for the whole community to continue to enjoy.

Parks for People is jointly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery.

Use the links below to view the master plan for the park (pdf format). If you have any questions or would like to get involved in developing the detailed designs please contact the Team or visit the Friends of St James’ Park website.