ANFIELD schoolchildren have been given a tour of one of the UK’s largest urban park restoration projects.

Civil engineers DCT invited 16 pupils from Pinehurst Primary school to tour their site at Stanley Park.

DCT’s onsite liaison officer, Kevin McBride, gave a brief history of the park and what has been unearthed during the extensive restoration, which includes renovating the Gladstone Pavilion, park pavilions, bandstand and footpath, and planting works to the Formal Terrace, Hillsborough Lodge, fencing and gates. The trip was part of DCT’s commitment to inform the local community about the project.

Mr McBride said: “They all seemed to enjoy their visit and when I explained all the events and exciting plans we have for when the park’s finished, they were really interested.”

The project is part of a £7.75m contract for DCT, which involves painstakingly restoring the Gladstone Pavilion and, along with the new Liverpool football stadium, is part of a larger scheme to regenerate New Anfield.

It is one of the largest urban park restoration schemes in the UK, and will accompany plans to provide a multi-use games area, tennis courts and a new lake, with the nearby Liverpool FC stadium housing a new museum, community sports facility and higher education centre.