Burnham-On-Sea’s newly-refurbished Marine Cove gardens were officially opened on Saturday (December 10th) during a special ceremony.
Despite wet weather, a crowd of over 150 people attended the grand opening, which was organised by The Friends of Marine Cove following the completion of a £360,000 four-year project to refurbish the gardens.
Sedgemoor District Council Chairman Cllr Gill Slocombe formally opened the facilities alongside Burnham-On-Sea’s Carnival Queen, Jenny Yip, and her princesses Catherine Tolley and Alyssa Jarvis.
There was also entertainment in the gardens from Burnham’s Mudlarks Community Choir, Burnham Dreamscheme and Berrow’s Fei Lung Kwan Kung Fu group, who performed a spectacular Chinese Lion Dance. A special mini-production of ‘The Night before Christmas’ was also performed, followed by carols by candlelight.
The refurbishment project was part-funded with £344,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund plus grants from Burnham and Highbridge Town Council, Viridor and Sedgemoor District Council.
The work included new landscaping, walls, fencing, lighting, paving, seating and water features.
“Our vision is for these gardens to be an example for others who need a model of how to restore a small historic garden,” said Sedgemooor’s Chairman Gill Slocombe. “This has been a wonderful occasion for Burnham and for everyone involved.”
She thanked Sedgemoor’s Parks Team of Harley Cook, Marina Turner and Jacqui Strong for all their involvement at Marine Cove over the past few years.
