South West

Developing the heart of Hillworth Park

Visitor Centre at Hillworth Park

A brand new multipurpose centre is being built in Devizes in order to create a meeting place for the local visitors of Hillworth Park.

Devizes Town Council is behind the £1.5 million project, which will see the construction of Hillworth Park Visitor Centre in an underused area of the park. The centre will act as a meeting hub for local visitors and will bring a sense of community back to the area.

Construction began in September 2011 and funding has been provided by the Big Lottery Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) through its Parks for People Programme. Works completed so far include the superstructure of the single-storey building and the installation of the waterproof pyramid roof.

The brick block cavity construction features a steel portal frame and a handmade brick finish exterior. Full length timber larch screen panels have been fitted to the exterior of the building as a security feature and will cover the windows and doors during the evenings. The screens can also be adjusted during the day in order to provide the centre with additional lighting.

Main contractor for the Hillworth Park Visitor Centre project is Gaiger Brothers Limited and the architect is DRA Architects. The landscape contractor is Blakedown and Neil Jones from RPS Planning & Development is the landscape architect.

DRA Architects Managing Director, Nigel Keen, said:

“We are creating a visitor centre that will provide an important meeting place for many members of the community. The centre has been designed to blend in with the historic backdrop of the park, however we’re also creating a contemporary pavilion that reaches out to everyone, whether it’s young mums or school parties.”

He added: “Work is currently running to schedule and I’m pleased to say that this project has proved very rewarding for all those involved. This project has been a real team effort and has included input from an excellent client, a very helpful and proactive contractor and a very supportive local authority.”

Plastering work is now underway on the visitor centre and a programme of internal fit out works is set to follow.

Hillworth Park Visitor Centre will be completed in June 2012.

 

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