City bandstand to get 'new lease of life'

A 19th Century city centre bandstand is to get a "new lease of life" with a restoration and repair programme costing £315,000.

The funding was awarded to Norwich City Council to restore the bandstand in the heart of Chapelfield Gardens, which has been affected by "wear and tear".

It is hoped repairs will be completed by May, in time for the summer months.

Emma Hampton, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for climate and environment, said: "Not only is it going to look really refreshed but it's going to have a whole new lease of life and host more events, more socialising, more occasions to bring the community together."

The bandstand has been a mainstay of the park since 1899 and while the overall design has remained the same, some features have either been added or lost over time.

Over the past 125 years it has been used as a stage for concerts, performances and community gatherings.

The work will include new paving and a fully accessible ramp.

Historic England awarded funding for the project as part of its Heritage at Risk scheme.

Hampton added: "Not only is it really important to protect the intrinsic heritage value of the bandstand, it is a really used asset by the community... making these improvements to make it more inclusive, accessible and easier to use for events is going to give it a whole new lease of life for years to come.

"The heritage at risk grant is especially for projects like this that quite frankly at the moment councils don't have the funding for.

"There are so many competing priorities so it's really important that funds like this do exist so we can still protect and enhance the heritage of these sorts of assets."

Sarah Morrison, from Historic England, said: "It's in need of conservation repair and we want this to be an exemplar conservation repair project.

"It has carpentry that needs repairing, it has a good quality timber structure, a tiled roof, a copper clad coupler on top of it and it's on this raised platform - so it's not just a lick of paint, it's actually taking these traditional techniques in the same way it was constructed so it will remain.

"In this case it is justified to add the ramp to gain access without losing the significant historic features."

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.