The weather couldn’t halt the opening of Medway’s newest park.

The unveiling of Lower Lines Park, in Gillingham, was delayed in January because of heavy snow but finally went ahead on Saturday .

Admiral Sir Ian Garnett KCB, who is also chairman of the Dockyard Trust, opened the park in Medway Road, at noon, with other dignitaries from across Medway and Kent.

The Lower Lines are a series of fortifications and brick trenches dating back to 1803, used to help defend Chatham Dockyard from attack during the Napoleonic wars.

They are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The park has 5.5 hectares of open land, about the same as seven football pitches, and is next to MidKent College’s new Medway campus. It includes woodlands and a wildlife trail.

The park is part of a wider plan to create a Great Lines Heritage Park and is owned by a charitable trust chaired by John Spence. It was supported by funding from MidKent College, and students regularly carry out litter picks and check for vandalism.

Mr Spence said: “I’d like to thank everyone who worked on it and have got us where we are today, and I’d like to thank them for the promise of help in the future.”

The opening was also attend by some of the Medway Town’s Sea Cadets, Mayor of Medway Cllr David Brake, and members of Medway Council.