Preparatory work for the next stage of the transformation of Court Hey Park is beginning, as Knowsley Council advances plans to upgrade one of its award‑winning green spaces.
The programme follows a 2023 masterplan, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, developed with site partners to guide long‑term improvements.
A condition survey confirmed the former National Wildflower Centre Millennium Building is beyond practical or economic repair. Closed to the public since 2017 on safety grounds, the structure occupies a substantial part of the park's centre.
The council has set out a two‑phase approach, starting with the removal of the Millennium Building. This phase is scheduled to get under way on site from 24 November and is expected to take around 30 weeks. It will see the building demolished and the area re‑landscaped to create new green space linking the Courtyard buildings, Incredible Edible CIC and the Forest School with the sunken Rose Garden, while expanding pedestrian routes.
Recent investment has already brought parts of the park back into fuller use. The central courtyard buildings have reopened to the public through Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme funding, and Espositos now offers an on‑site café and public toilets. Community‑benefit organisations, including One Knowsley and Incredible Edible Knowsley CIC, have established a lively hub within the courtyard and walled garden.
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Highlights include:
* One Knowsley launching the first ever Knowsley Pride in 2024.
* Incredible Edible CIC securing Reaching Communities Lottery Fund support and opening the holistic therapy hub "Incredible Edible Hollistics" in the walled garden.
* Friends of Court Hey Park staging events attended by more than 2,000 residents and winning external grants to deliver additional events across 2026.
* Whitefield Cricket Club gaining promotion and funding via the English Cricket Board for pitch improvements.
* Court Hey Bowlers obtaining Sport England funding to build a new clubhouse on site.
* Merseycycle securing The Big Bike revival funding to run road‑safety and bike‑maintenance courses, helping residents become confident cyclists.
Following demolition, the council will seek funding to deliver phase two of the masterplan, drawing on the park's heritage. Proposed improvements include:
* Safer pedestrian routes throughout the park and improved vehicle access.
* Further support for the growing community hub at the park's heart.
* A secondary open courtyard with a new frontage for Incredible Edible CIC opening into the sunken garden and wider park.
* Repairs to the original walled garden's perimeter wall.
* Enhancements to the former National Wildflower Centre gardens, reopening them as an ecology awareness zone that builds on Court Hey Park's legacy of ecological innovation and community engagement.
* Additional infrastructure for sport and fitness across the site.
* New public realm between the stables and the rose garden.
* Car‑park upgrades, including more spaces, resurfacing and lighting.
Cllr Shelley Powell, Knowsley's Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods, said: "Court Hey Park is full of rich history and heritage and has become a hub for events and attractions at the heart of the local community. We want to ensure that it provides the very best facilities for our communities and the start of work on the first phase of our masterplan will achieve just that - more usable spaces for our communities and a legacy for the National Wildflower Centre."