A VICTORIAN fair will be held in Stevens Park in Quarry Bank to celebrate the park's centenary and the completion of restoration works.

The event will take place on Wednesday October 27 from 11am and will include rides for £1, stalls and a juggling show from Solo Circus act.

It is being held to celebrate the new park facilities after a £1.8 million regeneration programme which has seen drives resurfaced and new footpaths constructed, the entrance gates restored and vital repair works carried out to the bandstand plus the memorial statue in the Peace Gardens where the plaques and walls have also been cleaned and a new ramped access path created.

Tintern House, formerly known as the White House, has also been extended and restored as part of the works which were made possible after Dudley Council, the Friends of Stevens Park and The Emily Jordan Foundation Projects successfully applied for £1.4million of Parks for People (Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery Community Fund) funding.

David Sparks, chairman of the Friends of Stevens Park group, said: "The park has been transformed. First established in the 1920s, it has now had a 100 year make over. Here's to 3021 and another century at the heart of the community."

Councillor Karen Shakespeare, Dudley's cabinet member for public realm, said: "We are incredibly proud of what’s been achieved at Stevens park and I would like to thank the Friends group and The Emily Jordan Foundation Projects for their dedication to making this project such a success.

"I look forward to celebrating the centenary event later this month, where people will have a chance to see the fantastic work that’s gone into preserving the park and opening Tintern House for the next generation.”

The Emily Jordan Foundation Projects, which supports people with learning disabilities, is basing itself in the revamped Tintern House building and is seeking trainees for its projects.

Opportunities including horticultural training opportunities and a bike recycling workshop are available to support people with learning disabilities to move closer towards work.

People can find out more on how to get involved at facebook.com/parkquarrybank/

Chris Jordan, founder of the charity, said: "Since the foundation was established in Kidderminster in 2008 we have supported many people with learning disabilities to learn new skills, to enable ‘those that can’ to enter the workplace. We are now really looking forward to being able to do the same thing in the Black Country - this makes a huge difference to this very disadvantaged group in our society.

"We have received fantastic support from Dudley Council, the Friends and the Lottery, and we are looking forward to many years of working together with this great partnership that has been developed.