The Heritage part of the Haigh Woodland Park project will support the following:
- Repair and restoration of the Plantation Gates, lodge and associated walling and landscape with a focus on creating an interpretative gateway into the park
- A training and volunteering hub, including the restoration of the Bothy buildings and a contemporary extension into the walled garden to create a multi-purpose pavilion to support a wide range of social and commercial opportunities
- A horticultural volunteering / growing area to expand our current Friends activities and work with Wigan and Leigh College on Horticultural delivery
- Enhanced interpretation of the Park’s industrial and social history and significance.
Conservation Management Plan
A conservation management plan is a document which sets out the significance of a historic site. It helps us to understand why a site’s history is important, how the landscape and buildings have developed and changed over many, often hundreds of years. By researching a site’s history and understanding how its developed and changed, more informed decisions about how that significance will be retained, protected and interpreted in any future uses, alterations or repairs can be made. It's an essential source of reference to help guide the best way to maintain and manage our heritage.
Haigh Woodland Park, with its grand Georgian Hall is an exceptional piece of heritage with a history spanning centuries, including no less than three grand houses on the site. It's also a landscape that has been shaped by industrial mine working, transforming into the picturesque woodlands we see today.
A key part of the National Lottery Heritage Fund contribution towards the Haigh project is to assist the Council in preparing a conservation management plan for the whole Haigh Woodland Park estate. It will be the first time that such a plan has been written for Haigh and will bring together a much greater understanding of the site’s history and heritage throughout its many different periods of evolution.
The natural setting, its industrial past, and the creation of the grand parkland around Haigh Hall will all be researched by a specialist conservation team. Local knowledge and archive material will help give a clearer picture of how life at Haigh has changed from the Lord Lindsey private estate to a much loved and visited public park.
Share your feedback
We welcome comments and suggestions from all stakeholders and residents on the project proposals.