Southern Culture
Did You Know?
Festivals
The South East has more festivals than any other region and the biggest mixed arts festival – the Brighton Festival – in the country
Forbury Gardens, Reading
The prosperity of a place is not determined purely by economics; wider social and environmental factors also contribute to an overall sense of well being and quality of life. The regeneration of an historic urban park in Reading has brought about major benefits to a whole community and opened up a previously neglected green space. The Grade II registered Forbury Gardens have had a long and rich history as part of the Reading Abbey complex and the pleasure gardens, originally laid out in the 1850s, were awarded a grant of 2.13million by the HLF in 2004 for their complete restoration. Work has seen the historic features of the park, which include an ornamental fountain, a Maiwand Lion, and a quintessentially English bandstand, returned to their former glory, alongside landscaping improvements and conservation of the abbey ruins. The wider Forbury Square Quarter has undergone extensive change and regeneration at the same time. The overall scheme placed a focus on improvements to the public realm and enhanced safety and access to the area as a whole. The gardens themselves are now used by a wider sector of the community and quality of life issues that had affected the area, such as anti-social behaviour, have been alleviated.