Bowring Park, located in Knowsley, the second most deprived borough in the UK, has the oldest municipal golf course. The partly renovated 82 acre park and its buildings were not attracting many visitors and was losing £250,000 a year. 

The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley Council had stepped in to run the golf course after the operator went into administration. Its ambition was to complete the restoration work, eliminate the loss and increase social value. oneday was brought on as managing agent, working in partnership with Knowsley Council to draw up a master plan to restore and revitalise Bowring Park and its offer. The key aim was to ensure economic viability while generating the maximum social and environmental value. 

Private investment was provided by oneday, alongside grant funding secured through the park’s charitable arm and the council acting as an anchor organisation. This brought together the public, private, and third sectors to find a viable way to secure the park’s future. The restoration work included the parkland and brought the coach house and stable buildings back into use, creating a café and spaces for events and community uses. 

Once the restoration was complete, oneday was able to focus on building visitor numbers and generating commercial and community activity throughout the day. oneday developed the offer which included a variety of activities such as Gardening Club, Forest School, Yoga and Disc Golf. We also embedded day-to-day operations for the food and drink provision and activity management to ensure efficiency.

Bowring Park now has a thriving amenity, hosting an array of events and weekly activities and attracts over 35,000 people. To support skills development, we established partnerships with nearby Myerscough College who deliver a horticultural programme on site.

In three years, Bowring Park has generated £15.9m in social impact with an average of 170 hours of volunteering a week and created 85 jobs and vocational opportunities. This project has been delivered at no additional cost to the council while simultaneously eliminating the loss from its budget.

oneday has secured a sustainable future for Bowring Park as demonstrated by the 125-year social value lease signed to ensure that it continues to deliver social impact through activities, events and learning for the people of Knowsley and the wider Liverpool City Region. In Autumn 2025, oneday is launching grow CIC (Community Interest Company), an organisation that will build on the work at Bowring to create a sustainable model for delivering long-term social impact and unlock the potential of KnowlseyKnowsley through collaboration.