Students from Harlow College have been helping to restore Harlow Town Park as part of a £2.8m regeneration programme.

The park's regeneration is partly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and over the last year huge parts have been landscaped and refreshed. Pets' Corner and the Bandstand are also being refurbished, along with Spurriers House, which will have a new ground floor café by Spring 2016.

Construction students taking part on work placements have been helping with the improvements.

Councillor Tony Durcan, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration & Enterprise, said: "The work the Harlow College students has done has really helped us, including painting the inside of the bandstand, and creating a horticultural space in the walled gardens, which we hope will be enjoyed by the local community, including people with disabilities.

"Having the students onsite has really pushed the project forward. Working on the paving slabs around the walled garden was really hard work, but the transformation was wonderful. It's made the site so much useable, we're so grateful."

Tom Stokes, Assistant Academy Manager for Construction at Harlow College said of his students: "It has been amazing to see how well our construction students have worked while on placement. This has, I'm sure, played a massive part in the development of these young people and given them a real insight into working life. I can't thank Harlow Council enough for this opportunity and I hope we have the chance to work closely together in future projects."

Karen Spencer, Principal of Harlow College, said of the project: "We are very proud of our Harlow College Construction students who have been renovating our Town Park. Firstly, it is brilliant for them to have real work experience, secondly there has been a great team ethic and lastly it's a fantastic community project that benefits the whole of Harlow and beyond."

Students from the Level 2 Graphic Design course have also been working with the Town Park team, creating new signage and designs to reflect the changing landscape. Cllr Durcan: "Our team were very impressed. Over 20 designs were submitted and we'll certainly be looking to commission some of those designs within our activity budget."

Cllr Durcan also talked of the need for more work experience for young people. "We understand how important employability skills and work experience are for young people in enabling them to access jobs. This has been a really positive experience for the Council and we look forward to working with Harlow College on other similar projects in the future."