'˜Romantic' garden design chosen for Hepworth Wakefield

International garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith has been chosen to design what will be one of the UK's largest free public gardens.

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PIC: Tom Stuart Smith/The HepworthPIC: Tom Stuart Smith/The Hepworth
PIC: Tom Stuart Smith/The Hepworth

The eight-time Gold Medal winner at the Chelsea Flower Show was selected to create a riverside garden by a panel at the Hepworth Wakefield.

The design will be modern, romantic, and “embued with overriding naturalism”, reflecting sculptor Barbara Hepworth’s “deep connection to the landscape.” It will include a meadow, sown with purple moor grass - found in Yorkshire marshes - as well as other more colourful and exotic species.

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Mr Stuart-Smith said he was delighted to be chosen: “Public commissions like these are scarce in the UK.

“I am looking forward to working with the gallery to create a beautiful public space in this riverside setting that will be treasured by residents and visitors alike.”

Four shortlisted designs were put on display last October.

Chair of The Hepworth Wakefield Trust David Liddiment said they’d taken the public’s views into account. He said the garden would help attract tourism, boosting the local economy further.

It comes as fundraisers announced a £250,000 gift from the Garfield Weston Foundation towards the £2.2m project.

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