Council approves £19m budget increase for plans to renovate Crystal Palace Park
By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter
Plans to renovate Crystal Palace Park in a £24million project have moved forward including updates to the park’s famous dinosaur statues and a new themed play area for children.
Bromley council has approved plans to increase the budget on the scheme by nearly £20million, with the details of the project for the historic park set to be approved by the authority next week.
The project will reportedly cost £24million and include updates to the Grade I listed dinosaur statues and their setting, the Tidal Lakes. A new dinosaur themed play area is also planned, alongside a revised information centre and improvements to the Penge Gate.
Work is also planned to restore the walls of the Grade II listed Italian Terraces, as well as improvements to the drainage to prevent further water damage and allow the possibility for events to be held at the space. Repair works are planned for the bust of Sir Joseph Paxton, the designer of the original Crystal Palace.
Bromley council agreed at a meeting on July 15, to increase the budget for the regeneration programme by over £19million. The additional funding comes from a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant and the sale of two areas of council-owned parkland.
Labour Councillor Ruth McGregor, representing the Crystal Palace and Anerley ward, said she and her fellow ward councillor Ryan Thomson were very supportive of the scheme. Conservative Councillor Colin Smith, leader of the council, responded by saying the project represented the end of a ‘very long road’.
Cllr Smith said at the meeting: “Unfortunately the park, being right up there on the north end of the borough where five boroughs meet, just has never had the amount of money many of us would like to have seen it have.
“We’re very pleased for yourself, your neighbourhood and indeed the nearby boroughs as well, many of whom will now hopefully see it as the regional treasure it has always been.”
Crystal Palace Park is reportedly visited by 1.4million people per year. The Crystal Palace Park Trust took on a lease to manage the park in September 2023 as part of the regeneration scheme. The listed building consent applications for the works on the park will be discussed at a Bromley Council meeting on July 25.
Pictured top: The famous dinosaur statues, as seen in Crystal Palace Park (Picture: Joe Coughlan)