A GARDEN of peace, rest and contemplation is set to be created at a Runcorn temple.

Wat Phra Singh UK has announced the construction of a new peace garden at its temple in the town centre is set to start soon.

The peace garden is part of the Reconnecting Runcorn Town Deal Programme – an ambitious set of eight projects which aim to improve the lives and livelihoods of residents and boost the local economy, made possible by funding from the Government’s Town Deal Fund.

Other contributors to the peace garden include Veolia Environmental, along with a variety of donations to Wat Phra Singh.

It is also complementary to another large project of creating a new Ubosot Temple Hall.

Adjacent to the temple is a sloping, grassed triangle of land. The idea is to level off the embankment as far as possible create some steps and a pathway for people with disabilities.

Also planned is landscaping, the installation of bench seating and the addition of a gold-coloured stupa in the centre, designed in Thailand and shipped to the UK, as will the central spire.

The pathway will create a short walking meditation route and the main spire, or chedi, has been kindly donated by a benefactor from Thailand.

It represents a replica of the main chedi at the parent temple in Chiang Mai in Thailand.

“This unique facility will provide a space where you may rest a while and contemplate the beauty of a single flower,” said Tony Collacott, trustee of Wat Phra Singh.

Construction will start on the garden around the middle of September and continue for a number of weeks.