WINCHESTER'S unique public park is set to be rejuvenated over the next five years.

Civic chiefs have drawn up a management plans for St Giles Hill which will reverse years of neglect.

Hundreds of tree are set to be chopped largely for safety reasons and the hillside will have a more open feel. Views lost in recent years will return.

The Winchester Town Forum heard that the work to 2028 will increase biodiversity as many of the trees have little natural value, improve public access and see more local people involved.

READ MORE HERE: Call to restore St Giles Hill in Winchester

In the longer-term the aim is to boost public knowledge of the heritage of the hill. In the Middle Ages it was the site of an annual fair which attracted thousands of people from across Europe. One of the last Saxon nobles who resisted the Norman Conquest, Waltheof, was executed on its slope.

The town forum heard that a new charity, the Friends of St Giles Hill Park, will do much of the maintenance work.  A previous group of volunteers had to cease work after an issue with insurance liability.

Rick Smith, acting head of the council's Natural Environment and Recreation Team, told the forum that park had a range of habitats not normally seen in urban settings, such as chalk grassland.

He said many of the trees to be felled were self-seeded ash and suffering from the dieback disease. Others to be felled as well as laurel, sycamore and ivy. The plan is to fell 40 trees this year and remove dead wood from 100 more. Climbing plants will be cut from 220 others.

SEE MORE: New strategy to protect trees agreed by city council

Mr Smith said: "A lot of the tree work is needed. Getting these trees down is quite a challenge.

"It will not be like Abbey Gardens. The felled trees provide habitat for many invertebrates. We will not be tidying it up like a garden, that is not one of our aims."

Local resident Mike Biden, who has lived locally since 1986, said the new Friends hoped to start work this summer once the registering as a charity was sorted. "We welcome the new management plan and hope the Friends will be able to give the park a better future."

The park's decline was highlighted by city councillor Charles Radcliffe last year. He told the forum he was pleased with the plan: "The park is a jewel in Winchester's crown. Outside London I can't think of any town in Britain that has a park to rival the views from St Giles Hill."

Cllr Chris Edwards said: "It is a much under-valued area of Winchester that has so much to offer. We haven't the money to do everything but it is a very exciting project."