A-maze-ing improvements made to Town Quay Park

Town Quay Park is the latest of the city’s parks and open spaces to benefit from improvements, whilst preserving the heritage of the Old Town area

Situated near the old city walls and other ancient monuments including Quilter’s Vault and Canute’s Palace, Town Quay Park is steeped in history.

Southampton City Council have worked closely with The Friends of Town Quay Park to produce a design that meets the requirements of the local community.

Improvements as part of the latest work include:

• Resurfacing the ground with green wet pour. This contrasts against the old city walls and creates a safe surface for children to play.
• Building raised beds to frame the space and close off access to and from Canute’s Palace in order to protect the ancient monument. The beds also create a more rounded space, ideal for outdoor performances or small local events and create gardening opportunities.
• A new miz-maze painted onto the surface in the centre of the park, offering informal play for children and an opportunity to teach children, visitors and residents alike about Southampton’s history.

Cabinet Member for Environment, Cllr Steven Galton at Town Quay Park

Councillor Steven Galton, Cabinet Member for Environment comments: “Improving our parks, open spaces, waterfronts and city/district centres and making people proud to call Southampton home again is a top priority of our new administration. The team have done a fantastic job to combine the parks rich history with an updated space for the community to use and enjoy. This is the latest of the improvements that have been made in Town Quay Park, in partnership with Friends of Town Quay Park, as we work to bring it up towards the Green Flag Award standard that we aspire to for all our city parks.”

A spokesperson from Friends of Town Quay Park adds: “We’d like to thank the Council Parks team for collaborating with us so closely and for their hard work in bringing the local community’s ambitious proposals for Town Quay Park to fruition. This beautiful green space is hugely appreciated by local residents, school families and city centre workers, even more so during recent lockdowns.

“Next steps are for new raised beds to be replanted, restoring the Huguenot garden, and for continuing improvements to the wildlife area, ‘orchard’, herb and flower beds. Anyone interested in finding out more or joining our team of volunteer gardeners are welcome to get in touch via the Friends of Town Quay Park website or Facebook page.”