A memorial garden currently undergoing a £10,000 facelift is scheduled to officially open by the summer - but it could be earlier if all goes to plan - it has been revealed.
Installation of the custom-made bricks at the Princess Diana Memorial Garden in Swadlincote which is part of the project is due to be carried out this month before the finishing touches are put to the revamp.
Work in the garden, at the bottom of Alexandra Road, was originally due to finish in September last year, but delays in ordering granite stones and the fact that a plan to use blue brick planters was rejected by the council pushed the finishing date back. It has now been stated that the garden could official re-open as early as spring or in the summer
The memorial garden is being transformed following last year's 20th anniversary of the Princess's death in 1997.
Many elements have been completed, including the timber sleepers and steps creating a mini-amphitheatre, spring bulb and grass seed planting, installation of timber circular bench with a timeline and ring of granite setts.
The memorial garden will be transformed into a light, colourful and attractive space with new paths, seating, grassed areas, spring bulbs, architectural lighting, timeline and engraved poem. There will also be an area for events and activities.
The extra costs since the start of the works in June last year have now reached a total of £10,137.40, figures reveal.
The memorial work is part of a larger project aiming to further improve the town, funded by the Swadlincote Townscape Heritage Scheme and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The work is being co-ordinated by South Derbyshire District Council.
This has seen shop frontages, including Timms Solicitors, in West Street, being transformed. Another venue set for a makeover is the former Autoquip building, in West Street, where the previously boarded up first floor windows are due to be fully repaired.
By the end of the entire project in the spring or summer next year, almost a dozen town centre frontages will have been enhanced.
The memorial garden, originally created to celebrate the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles to Diana, later became the scene of an outpouring of grief after her death in 1997 following a road accident in Paris.
The scheme includes a landscaped seating area will be created around a beech tree for residents to visit and remember the Princess. The garden will feature a poem written by local poet Kevin Fegan, which remembers Princess Diana and the history of the area.
While the garden remains fenced off its new seating area can be seen and planting has started.
Process update
• June 19 – construction work begins on site with the predicted completion date of September 14.
• August - Private donation received from Terjinder Purewall of £5,700 towards two benches (original bench changed slightly) and the engraving of two plaques to be positioned on the two benches – (in memory of Councillor Roy Nut who was council chairman in 1981 and dedicated the gardens alongside Princess Anne)
• Engraved timeline added to circular timber bench – engraved on the backrest panels.
• The predicted completion date is now January 31, 2018 (subject to weather conditions).
- Delays to the work push means an official opening will not happen until the spring or summer.
