A  REPORT looking at ways forward for the major facelift of one of Tynedale’s most popular parks is expected to be complete next week.

The £30,000 feasibility study looking at Hexham’s Tyne Green Country Park is expected to include suggestions for a multi-million pound regeneration of the area.

As well as expansion and improvement projects ranging from £1 million to £1.5 million, the report will include the option for an £80,000 revamp of the cafe, boat house and toilet block.

A new visitor centre, which would incorporate a function suite is another idea which Tynedale Council will be keen to progress.

Although the report will not contain any recommendations, it will make observations and provide costed options for the council to discuss.

The report was commissioned and paid for by the council last March after its bids for funding to major bodies all drew a blank.

The completed report will be viewed by stakeholders before Tynedale Council decides which projects to take forward.

A spokesman for the council said the study would be complete next week.

She said: “This 19 hectare park was dedicated to the people of the Tynedale district in 1887 and has since played a significant role in the landscape, heritage and leisure of the community.

“We are working with current user groups and other partners to look at ways that Tyne Green can be preserved and enhanced to attract more local people, as well as visitors to the area.

“We were expecting a preliminary report on the work in December but this has been slightly delayed in order to include further feedback from the community through a survey in our Talking Tynedale newspaper and on our website.

“This initial report is expected to arrive in the next week or so, after which we will be sharing it with stakeholders and assessing the best options in which to seek funding.”

The site already attracts around 112,000 people annually to Hexham, and includes a golf course, football pitch, children’s play area and water sports facilities.

It is the training ground for Hexham Queen Elizabeth High School rowing club, which has produced Olympic rowers such as Matthew and Peter Wells, and hosts the popular Hexham Regatta rowing and Tyne Tour canoe competitions.

The improvements to the area were first mooted two years ago, but Tyne Green was ravaged soon after by the severe floods in January 2005.

Northumbrian Water had to replace the water pipes which were ripped from under the river bed, leaving Tyne Green a muddy mess.

With that in mind, the council now sees transforming Tyne Green into one of the region’s top parkland areas as imperative.