LONG-AWAITED £2million work to restore a park to its former glory could begin in April, it has been revealed.

It comes as a friends group tries to find a lost time capsule buried in Rhyddings Park in Oswaldtwistle in the 1970s.

The work on the park is likely to last between 12 and 18 months but once finished will include a community cafe, orchard, kitchen garden and greenhouses. Landscaping work will also be completed, as well as the folly and entrance gates.

Ann Warrington, who chairs the new Friends of Rhyddings Park committee, said the restoration will help make the park a community hub and be a space for families to enjoy.

Mrs Warrington, 47, said: “If everything goes to plan Hyndburn Council hopes to start work in April.

“There is going to be around 12 to 18 months of disruption and they are going to have to work around the nesting season and planting season.

“Fingers crossed in 18 months we should have the most fabulous park.

“Everybody is just really keen to get going. We have waited so long for this.

“The first application was submitted something like 20 years ago

“So we’re just keen to get it completed and make it a focal point for the community and a space for families to come and enjoy.”

Funding for the park has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) after help from Newground Together and Hyndburn Council.

But before the work start the friends group is hoping to find a buried time capsule.

Mrs Warrington said the capsule was buried by Rodney Parkinson from the Oswaldtwistle Civic Society in 1973 but they are still trying to establish where it was buried and what was in it.

The group has been given permission by the council to scan the area with a metal detector but no permission has been granted to dig in the park. Mrs Warrington has asked that nobody attempted to do so.

The friends group is considering working with schools and community groups to bury new time capsules once the park work is completed.

A series of fundraising events are being hosted to fund a community party on completion of the work.

The next will be a Be My Valentine event at The Black Dog in Union Road,Oswaldtwistle, from 7.30pm on February 14. There will be a music, raffle and performances from comedians Colin Manford and Penella Mellor.

Plans for the park can be seen on a noticeboard within the facility, at The Stop and Rest Inn, Fielding Lane, Oswaldtwistle, or online at For more information visit www.rhyddingspark.co.uk.