Holly Hill's silted lakes and Victorian stonework will be restored with a £1,088,866 lottery grant. Step-free paths to the lakes and guided walks are planned.
Holly Hill Woodland Park in Sarisbury Green has been awarded £1,088,866 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The money will restore the park’s Victorian lakes, ponds and waterfalls, which are silting up and in need of repair.
Fareham Borough Council, which owns and runs the park, announced the grant on 30 September. The project is called Holly Hill Rediscovered.
What the grant pays for
The council’s announcement lists the work the money will fund:
- restoring the Pulhamite stone features and reinforcing the lake edges
- restoring the Sunken Garden, with a new pergola
- a new, larger lakeside platform at the main bridge, built for visitors with limited mobility
- de-silting the lakes and digging a new lagoon to trap silt in future
- fixing paths and entrances, so the main route to the lakes works for wheelchairs and prams
- new wildlife habitat: bankside planting, log piles, deadwood and hibernacula
- interpretation panels, downloadable guides, trails and guided walks
- a two-year programme of activities on the park’s history and nature
- two part-time posts, an engagement and education officer and a project officer
A planning application for the silt removal has been submitted. The council says it is still waiting for a decision. It has not yet published a start date for the works.
Why the lakes need the work
The park covers about 35 hectares and runs from Barnes Lane in Sarisbury Green down to the River Hamble. It is about four miles west of Fareham town centre. The council’s park page says it began as an estate park and arboretum for a manor house, with landscape features developed from the 1870s. The council took it on in 1954, in a state of dereliction.
The lakes are held back by dams built from Pulhamite. That is a patented artificial rock, invented by James Pulham and widely used for Victorian rock gardens and grottos. A 2024 council report says the water garden was designed by Henry Milner in the 1880s.
The same report to the council’s Executive explains why the project grew. Survey work found much more was needed than first thought. The banks needed stabilising, historic features needed rebuilding, and the silting of the lakes needed slowing down. The report warned that safety risks were likely to develop without the work.
Where the rest of the money comes from
The lottery grant is the second stage of funding. In March 2025 the Heritage Fund gave the council £111,000 of development funding to work up the full bid. The council added £60,000 of its own for that stage.
In June 2024 the Executive set aside £2,046,000 for the restoration. It agreed to put in £1,056,000 of the council’s own match funding if the lottery bid succeeded, made up of:
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Developer contributions already received (section 106) | £425,000 |
| Future Community Infrastructure Levy receipts | £436,000 |
| New Forest recreation mitigation funding | £195,000 |
Section 106 and the Infrastructure Levy are payments made by housebuilders. The New Forest money comes from a council scheme to improve green spaces in the borough, so fewer people need to travel to the national park.
Councillor Ian Bastable, the council’s executive member for streetscene, said: “We are thrilled to have received this support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we can now implement our plans to restore this much loved woodland park and create events and activities for everyone to enjoy.”
What it means for you
- No closures have been announced. Watch the project page for dates once the work is scheduled.
- Access should get easier. The main route to the lakes is due to become usable with a wheelchair or pram, and the new bridge platform is designed for people with limited mobility.
- You can take part. The council ran guided walks in spring and has a Facebook group and Instagram account for the project, linked from the project page. The two-year activity programme will add more events.
- Getting there: the main car park is on Barnes Lane, with more than 80 spaces and disabled bays near the entrance. A smaller car park on Barnes Close gives easier access for wheelchair users, the council says.
For other free days out across the borough, see our guide to things to do in Fareham.
Have your say