Grand designs for Hull's forgotten park

A STUNNING new design has been unveiled for the entrance to the Hull park that houses the KC Stadium.

The plans are part of multi-million pound proposals to breathe new life into the Victorian West Park, forgotten since Hull City and Hull FC moved in.

Officials want to lure people from across the city to explore West Park, as well as attracting visitors from outside Hull.

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Other facilities, including a state-of-the-art skateboard park, are expected to follow the 1.4m proposals for the gates, which go before the planning committee tomorrow. If all goes well, work will begin in March and will be finished by next year.

Project manager Garry Taylor said the new entrance was designed to make a statement to the thousands of visiting fans as well as locals. Mr Taylor, who works for regeneration body Gateway, said: "At the moment we have the stadium and the park and they don't relate to each other. It's about fixing the infrastructure, making it clear that the two work together. Because the stadium is so big it has created a disjoint.

"The stadium has a massive number of visitors – we want to show them how great this place is.

"If we get this right people will travel from all over to see it."

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Hundreds of people surveyed at events last summer wanted something that was modern but reflected the park's heritage, and that fitted in with the adjacent half-timbered Carnegie Library, dating back to the beginning of the last century.

The new entrance and square has been inspired by the original entrance to the park, built in the 1880s and demolished years ago. It will be formed by up to five columns over two metres high, built from the same type of weathering steel used to make the Angel of the North, which has a striking orangey-rust colour.

The blocks will be laser cut with images of the original entrance, formed with small dots backlit with LED lighting which react to movement – the more movement there is, the more intense the lights are.

New direct routes to the stadium will be built, replacing the old ones now out of sync with the modern use of the park. They too will be marked out with lit columns.West Park was the second public park to be opened in Hull in August 1885, following on from Pearson Park in 1860. At the time it was described as being "laid out with great taste in drives, walks, flower beds, etc". But nearly a third of the 31-acres is now taken up by the KC stadium, associated buildings and parking.

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