Improvement work set to start on Yarrow Valley car park

Visitors to a popular Chorley tourist attraction will soon benefit from better parking facilities as work begins on improving the car park at Yarrow Valley Country Park.

Chorley Council is investing £220,000 in a major upgrade of the car park to repair potholes, tidy the vegetation and increase the capacity by a third.

The work is part of improvements to the borough’s parks and open spaces and comes in response to suggestions from visitors.

Councillor Adrian Lowe, who oversees parks and open spaces at Chorley Council, said: “Yarrow Valley Country Park is becoming one of our most popular tourist attractions and it is important that we improve the car park so it is fit for purpose.

“We think most people will be pleased once the new car park is finished because there are currently lots of potholes and on busy days it can be hard to find a parking spot.

“Since we launched our Check Out Chorley campaign last year we’ve seen lots of new visitors to the park, which is home to a children’s play area, wonderful walks and is a haven for wildlife.”

The improvements will involve the loss of some lower quality trees and vegetation within the existing car park area to make room for 130 vehicles.

A sustainable approach is being taken with the new car park with the surface being a combination of tarmac and permeable gravel paving to avoid directly discharging additional surface water into the River Yarrow.

“This is part of our continued investment in the borough to make sure Chorley is a place people can be proud of,” said Councillor Lowe.

Work will start on Monday 27 March and the main car park area is expected to be completed by early June.  The work will be done in phases so that visitors can continue to use the car park while the work is ongoing.  The visitor centre, café and country park will remain open throughout.