A VINTAGE tea party was held in Poole Park to celebrate a bid for lottery cash.

More than 80 people turned out for the event, which was organised by the Friends of Poole Park. It took place in the park’s pavilion and saw guests wear vintage clothes and drink from china tea cups.

Eunice Marsden, from the Friends of Poole Park, said: “It’s great that we now have the cricket green available for us to hold events for our community.

“The Heritage Lottery Fund bid was enthusiastically welcomed and generous donations to the bid fund were also received.”

Music was provided by Revue 3A and UKeladies Plus One , and Tesco at Branksome provided the tea, coffee and ingredients for the sandwiches, while there was a range of photos on display of the park over the years.

To kick-start the first stage of the bidding process, the Friends of Poole Park also worked with Borough of Poole to ask residents to fill in a questionnaire and get involved with public consultation.

Nearly 1,120 people put forward suggestions for improvements to the park with the most popular recommendations being that the boating lake should be managed for wildlife and that the Victorian park layout should be retained and enhanced.

Cllr Xena Dion, cabinet portfolio holder for a prosperous and sustainable Poole, said: “The number of questionnaires completed is fantastic and it really shows how well-loved Poole Park is.

“The park is a wonderful facility which everyone can enjoy, so it’s really important that we listen to local people and do everything we can to secure this money and deliver the enhancements that the majority of people have said they want.”

Cllr Dion also thanked The Ark and the Seven’s Boat Shed for their support and for donating prizes for three lucky respondents to the questionnaire.

For more information on how to get involved with the project, email Environment@poole.gov.uk