Liverpool City Council and the Queen Elizabeth Trust are joining forces on an ambitious new joint endeavour at Croxteth Country Park, building on the Council’s plans to unlock more of the much-loved park’s potential for local communities and future generations.
The Queen Elizabeth Trust is one of three memorial projects announced by the Government in April to honour the late Queen’s legacy – alongside a national memorial in St James’s Park and a digital memorial – following recommendations from the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee. His Majesty the King is Royal Patron of the Trust, which is currently in its pilot phase and will launch formally in Spring 2027. Inspired by the late Queen’s stated belief that “everyone is our neighbour”, the Trust will work hand in hand with communities across the UK, providing funding and targeted support to restore and sustain shared spaces at the heart of local life.
The partnership will see the Trust support an ambitious package of projects across the 500-acre park, helping Liverpool City Council go further with its plans to increase community participation, improve facilities and secure a sustainable long-term future for one of the city’s most-loved shared places.
Croxteth Country Park has been part of Liverpool life for generations. Its wider catchment is home to almost 220,000 people, including approximately 38,000 children, and the partnership aims to ensure that even more people can experience and enjoy everything the park has to offer in the years ahead.
The city also held a special place in the life of Queen Elizabeth. During her Golden Jubilee visit to Liverpool in 2002, the late Queen described Merseyside as “one of the most distinctive and energetic parts of the United Kingdom” and reflected on Liverpool’s experience of showing how communities can come together.
Croxteth Country Park will be the first project supported by the Queen Elizabeth Trust as QET develops its approach ahead of the launch of its future UK-wide funding programme. Working with Liverpool City Council will allow the Trust to put its approach into practice and learn how funding, relevant expertise and strong networks can best support local partners and help good ideas go further.
The initial phase will bring together almost £2 million in combined investment from the Queen Elizabeth Trust and the Lady Sefton Trust (bequeathed for the benefit of the city and held in the custodianship of Liverpool City Council), alongside wider support from Liverpool City Council, delivering vital practical support and expertise.
Subject to final agreement, the initial phase is expected to include:
- further restoration of the Community Garden, supporting wellbeing, volunteering, skills development and inclusive access
- a natural amphitheatre
- a pump track for children and young people, creating more opportunities to be active and build confidence and skills
Alongside these projects, the partnership will also support the development of a masterplan for Croxteth Country Park’s future. The park already attracts 600,000 visits per year, despite parts of the site remaining underused. The masterplan will assess the scale and sequencing of future work and the mix of investment needed to unlock more of the park’s potential, ensuring even more people experience and enjoy the park.
Learning from the Croxteth Country Park will help inform the Trust’s future approach. Details of its UK-wide funding programme will be published when the Trust formally launches in Spring 2027.
Councillor Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, said: “Croxteth Park has brought generations of Liverpudlians together and we want it to play just as important a role for generations to come.
“We have long had ambitious plans for the estate, but realising its full potential requires us to think at a different scale. The Queen Elizabeth Trust’s support, investment and expertise has galvanised our ambition and means we can go further than we could have achieved alone.
“Together, we can breathe new life into parts of this much-loved estate, create more opportunities for the communities around it, and help ensure that future generations can enjoy Croxteth just as generations of Liverpudlians have before them.”
Sir Damon Buffini CVO, Chair of the Queen Elizabeth Trust, said: “Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth believed deeply in service, in community and in the things that bring people together. Throughout her reign she celebrated the extraordinary heritage, culture and natural beauty of the United Kingdom, and the communities that give those places meaning.
“The Queen Elizabeth Trust wants to carry that spirit forward by helping to ensure our great, shared places remain part of everyday life, and everyone has the opportunity to experience and enjoy them.
“That is why we are so excited that Croxteth Country Park will be our first project. We want to work hand in hand with the Council and local communities, listening to the people who know the park best and working with them to shape its future.”
Liverpool City Council owns and manages Croxteth Park and will remain responsible for its long-term management and stewardship.
Further information about the Queen Elizabeth Trust’s UK-wide funding programme will be published at its formal launch in Spring 2027.
