New £200,000 bandstand project for Beaumont Park

Oct 14 2009 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

“Because it’s a listed park, the new bandstand will have to meet all the heritage requirements as well.”

Fellow Cabinet member Clr David Sheard also supports the plan.

The Heckmondwike Labour councillor said: “When we put the bandstand in at Heckmondwike it greatly improved the use of the park.”

Beaumont Park once boasted two timber bandstands, but now only the stone base of one of them remains.

The new bandstand would be metal to help it withstand vandalism, but will be built in the Victorian style.

If work is funded and goes ahead on schedule, the new bandstand will open in mid-2011.

The Friends are rejuvenating the Victorian park, which was created by Lord Henry Beaumont in 1883.

The park, which borders Lockwood and Netherton, originally featured caverns, waterfalls and hillside paths.

However it fell into disrepair. The Friends were formed in 1998 to restore the park to its former glory.

Kirklees Council and the National Lottery have helped to pay for restoration work at the site, which is now Grade II listed.

Last April the park’s lower gates were officially reopened after a £46,000 restoration.