HTA gets the nod for Crystal Palace Park overhaul

The AJ100 Employer of the Year’s plans for the historic Grade II*-listed park will see upgrades to key sites including the Grade II-listed Italian Terraces, the Grade II listed Paxton Bust, unique dinosaur sculptures and lakes.

HTA Design secured unanimous approval from Bromley Council’s planning committee this week for the proposals, which will also introduce a new information centre, a dinosaur-themed play area, a maintenance building, accessibility improvements and a feature entrance at Penge Gate.\xa0

Landscape improvements feature new meadows, paleo-inspired planting and wildlife-friendly shrubbery. Sustainable water management will be integrated within the landscape through sculpted swales and rain gardens.

The scheme is the first phase of a wider £52 million improvement plan spearheaded by Bromley Council and the Crystal\xa0Palace Park Trust, which ،umed responsibility for the management of the park in September.

Natalia Roussou, landscape design director at HTA Design, said: ‘This is a major step towards the regeneration of Crystal\xa0Palace Park, taking us closer to reimagining Britain’s parks as climate-resilient, biodiverse and accessible ،es for all.

She continued: ‘By cele،ting and protecting the site’s historic significance through the restoration and unearthing of its beautiful listed features, the proposals will re-establish one of London’s legacy parks as an international destination.’

HTA Design was selected for the work by Bromley Council in June last year. The practice leads a team of 20, including Donald Insall Associates and Tate + Co, to submit a planning application. The s،rtlist for the estimated £1.2 million contract was not disclosed.

Crystal Palace Park, which was completed in the 1850s to designs by Joseph Paxton, fell into a state of disrepair after the Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire in 1936, leaving behind the Italian Terraces above which it stood.

The restoration of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, a collection of 30 Grade I-listed dinosaur sculptures in the park’s Geological Court, will also be restored for the first time since being given Grade I-listed status in 2007.

Work will begin next year.