Ben, half of the Armstrong and Miller comedy duo, accepted an invitation from the Stapeley Parish Action Group to open phase 2 of the development, which was funded by Community Spaces.

The £100,000-plus Stapeley Children’s Play Area is on a landscaped corner site next the Pear Tree Primary School in Stapeley on the outskirts of Nantwich.

“We carried out a survey in the parish asking local people what they felt was most needed and the results showed that a recreational facility for the children was a top priority,” said Val Ingram, Chair of Stapeley Parish Action Group.

“It has taken some three years of very hard work by all concerned to bring it to fruition and we are delighted that Ben Miller agreed to come back to Nantwich and officially open this wonderful new facility for children of all ages throughout the area.”

The architect-designed playground  incorporates see-saws and swings, an overhead zip wire and numerous novelty features as well as a bicycle park and bench seating alongside the pathways.

Phase one was opened in July 2011, funded by the Government’s Playbuilder scheme and Landfill Communities Funds of Waste Recycling Group Ltd, administered by WREN. The second and final phase, which has cost nearly £50,000, has been funded by Community Spaces, managed by Groundwork Cheshire and installed by County Landscape Development. Match funding was also provided by Stapeley & District Parish Council.

Despite a very cold, windy winter’s afternoon a large number of local families turned out to see the ribbon-cutting opening ceremony. Children were given commemorative wrist bands and modelled balloons and enjoyed designing their own tiles in the craft area. Pear Tree Primary School PTA members helped to run the refreshments stalls.

More pictures on the group’s Flickr feed

The first is an introduction to social media, taking place in Liverpool on Tuesday October 25 from 9.30am-1pm, while the second, in Widnes on Thursday October 27 from 9.30am-4.30pm, will focus on how voluntary and community groups can develop partnerships and consortia.

To sign up, email Darren.OToole@groundwork.org.uk or call 0161 237 3200.

Tracey Knight of Stapeley Parish Action Group (SPAG) says: “After three years of planning we are delighted to see our project nearing completion. Phase 2 has been funded by our Community Spaces grant of almost £50,000 and is currently being project managed by Groundwork Cheshire and constructed by County Landscape Development.”

The Stapeley Parish Plan, published in 2008, highlighted a lack of children’s play facilities in the community, so Stapeley Recreation Group, a sub-group of Stapeley Parish Action Group was given the task of setting up a new play area.

Tracey adds: “We were so delighted to receive this huge amount of money because it’s enabled us to enhance the play site further with a multiplay unit for the older children, a springy see saw for the young ones, extra seating, cycle racks, a tarmac pathway and landscaping with trees and shrubs.

“We are now busy organising our launch event, which will take place in November. The local children are so excited and can’t wait to try out the new equipment. They’ve watched it being built bit by bit every day on their way to school for the past couple of weeks. It’s been so rewarding to see the site being used by so many and I echo the comment repeated by so many parents – it’s been long overdue!”

Phase One of the site was opened in July by local MP Edward Timpson. It includes a zip wire, supernova, pendulum tyre swing, toddler swings, a spinning dish and a multi play unit for younger children. Since the opening the play area has been extremely busy with local children of all ages, especially throughout the summer holiday.

There are more photos on our Flickr page.

Good luck with the launch.

And don’t forget to let us know how your launch went… we love seeing your photographs, videos and reports.

Share the joy!

Court Hey Park, on the border of Liverpool and Knowsley, is one of Knowsley’s best-loved parks. Its 14 hectares contain the National Wildflower Centre and, until the 1950s, a mansion house owned by Robertson Gladstone, elder brother of Prime Minister William Gladstone. It has a fine selection of mature trees, a bowling green, cricket pitch and play area, topped off with a Green Flag Award.

Another of the park’s great assets is a Friends group dedicated to improving the park and encouraging an appreciation of its history. Earlier this year they organised a theatre event in the park telling the story of the mansion house, based on a book by one of the Friends, Dave Roberts.

How do you improve a park like this?

One way is to make sure that people know that it’s there and can walk round in all weathers without getting muddy!

Some of the paths in the park were unsurfaced and turned to mud in the winter. A key entrance was hidden away so that you could walk past without knowing a park existed and there was a wicked chicane to get past. The problems this caused became obvious when one of the Friends started using a mobility scooter and could no longer get into the park using that entrance.

A £49,999 Community Spaces grant paid for new paths, new entrances and signage that will help more people get in and enjoy the park. It will enable local residents to walk across the park to school, even in winter, and creates a circular walk for all visitors to enjoy.

An activity and celebration event on September 14 saw children from three local primary schools helping to put the finishing touches to the project, planting hundreds of wildflowers in the park with staff from the National Wildflower Centre and Knowsley Ranger Service. Their hard work was rewarded with an afternoon of fun activities. Knowsley’s Mayor, Coun Christine O’Hare, declared the new paths and other improvements officially open.

Rita Walker, Chair of the Friends of Court Hey Park, says: “The Launch was a great success with the children enjoying the planting in the morning, they collected loads of conkers too which added to their pleasure. My thanks to Jan Pell and her team from The Wildflower Centre for organising it so successfully.

“The afternoon was enjoyed by the children all getting a turn at the various activities: card making, face painting (teachers too), circus skills and storytelling. The event ended with refreshments and congratulations from the teachers for a great day.

“The Friends are delighted with the improvements to the park. I have enjoyed talking to park users to get their reaction; everyone is very pleased with the improvements. Many thanks from The Friends of Court Hey Park to Community Spaces for giving us the opportunity to make improvements so sorely needed. It has made everything worthwhile for us.”

You can follow the Friends on their website www.courtheypark.co.uk

The Friends have created a new play area and developed programmes to encourage community ownership and pride in the park.

Miranda says: “There are 15 members of the team who were unable to attend the ceremony so I was most definitely accepting the award on their behalf.”

The awards celebrate the work of volunteer groups across the Fylde area in Lancashire and acknowledge the difference they make to their communities.

Keep those awards coming!

Years of hard work and determination have paid off for a dedicated team at Halton in Lancashire with the official opening of a skate park, games area and playground for the village.

The project, funded mainly through a £450,000 Community Spaces grant, was launched by local MP David Morris, who unveiled a commemorative plaque before showing off his skills on the state of the art skatepark.

Children from the local playgroup and primary school tried out the playground and games area, while BMX riders and skateboarders were keen to test out the skatepark, which was designed by specialist firm Maverick.

Brian Jefferson, chairman of the local parish council and project manager for the scheme, said: “It’s been a lot of hard work, but we have created something that is not just for this village today, but for everyone in years to come. We have had skateboarders coming from as far away as Brighton to enjoy the fantastic facility we have built here.”

Fundraiser Maureen Richardson added: “Many people were very surprised at the variety of activities we were able to provide over the opening weekend. Many families stayed for the whole day and we had about a dozen tents on site overnight. The skate park competition was simply amazing.
 
“The village is buzzing and all the children at school are very excited. We are really proud of what we have been able to achieve and are pleased that users are recognising our efforts.

“Thank you once again for enabling us to put the heart back into Halton.”

We have posted a short film of the launch day to our YouTube channel – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUrHqdgVzU4

And there’s more information on the Halton Community Centre website – www.haltoncentre.org

Cath Powell (centre) shares plans for Park Views Got Talent project

Great news from the Park View 4 U group, one of the leading members, Cath Powell has been awarded an MBE for her services to the local community, which includes improving their local park.

Cath, who has supported the development of the £47k Community Spaces funded Park View’s Got Talent project in Lancashire, was thrilled to find out the news saying, “I do believe that local people can make a difference to their community.”

The funding from Community Spaces will help pay for a new open air ampitheatre in the park which will make it a hub for local community events and activities.

You can read Cath’s full story – which was covered by Lytham St Annes Express – by following this link. 

We’d like to congratulate Cath on her success and for being such a huge inspiration to locals, without people like Cath Community Spaces projects would not be possible.

Northwood Community Allotments – searching for a home for a gnome!

The Northwood Community Allotments group got a very special visit from the Daybreak team and Charlie Dimmock last week!

The group that has secured funding from Community Spaces for a community garden in the past, were one of the lucky few to get one of Daybreak’s presenter gnomes. The group have given Dan the gnome a new home, standing proud with the strawberries.

For a snippet from the show follow this link: http://northwoodgreenstreets.blogspot.com/2011/06/dans-gnome-gets-home-home-and-garden.html