THE iconic Town Gardens park gates have received a revamp, thanks in part to a charity donation.

Community First donated £10,000 towards the facelift via the Hills Group. 

The work involved getting a blacksmith to fix the metal and match the paintwork to its original colour of Venetian red.

South Swindon Parish Council spent £70,000 in total on the year-long restoration of the 125-year-old gates.

Chair Chris Watts said: “We’re really grateful to Community First for the significant amount towards the gate. It was always going to be an expensive project as it’s a heritage gate officially so we had to get a scientific lab result for the paint.

“There were only a couple of blacksmiths left in the country and we found one in the Forest of Dean to do the work.”

Grants officer for Community First Mary Hardwidge said: “This project has been ongoing for a while but it’s a very well-used park and the gates were very dilapidated.

“We’re community-based so every project we like to have a large involvement with the community. It’s lovely to be part of it as it helps so many people and they wouldn’t always be able to do it. It acts as a leverage for other funds who may be able to support something and might not have if other people are funding it.”

“We’re glad to be playing our part in part and hope this will last another 125 years.”

The money has been made available through the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) which is administered for Hills by Community First, the rural community council for Wiltshire.