Country park restored in £4.2m project

A country park has new trails, trees and buildings after a £4.2m improvement project.

Devon County Council, which owns Stover Country Park, said the work carried out over the last three years had "transformed the park for wildlife, heritage and visitors".

More than 14,000 cubic metres of silt has been removed from the lake to improve water quality.

The visitor centre at the site near Newton Abbot has also been extended and a new community workshop has been built in work funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Devon County Council and a range of partners.

Jacqi Hodgson, the Green Party cabinet member for climate change, said: "Newton Abbot is a big growing area with lots of young families so it's perfectly placed for them to use as their local asset.

"With the A38 close by it's very accessible and once you're here it's a perfect oasis to be quiet, to relax and just breathe the fresh air and enjoy the sounds of nature."

A new plinth was unveiled on Wednesday to mark the completion of the project and volunteers planted a variety of trees on land next to the lake.

Emily Cannon, Stover Country Park project officer, said the silt extracted from the lake had been stored and then spread over the ground ahead of planting deciduous trees as "a grand finale and legacy".

Devon County Council said the public were invited to take part in family-friendly activities at the park on Sunday from 10:00 GMT to celebrate the end of the restoration work.

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