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

New pathway at Bramley Baptist Church, Leeds

The majority of Community Spaces funded projects include a path – they make the world of difference in making a site user-friendly and accessible and that’s why it’s so important to get them right.

Paths should be designed to be accessible to everyone, including people with limited mobility such as wheelchair users, and to those with sensory impairments.

If your project includes a path, it is important that you include with the Stage 2 application a path specification to detail the length and width of this path and the construction materials. This should include the surface material, any edging and any drainage provision that may be needed.

We recommend:

• Paths should be a minimum of 1.2 metres wide

• Surfaces should be firm, level, non-glare and non-slip when wet or dry

• Loose materials, such as gravel, bark chip, cobbles and uneven setts should be avoided as they make access difficult.

The following organisations can provide help and guidance on designing inclusive outdoor environments:

http://www.sensorytrust.org.uk 

htpp://www.fieldfare.org.uk 

If you’ve already designed and installed a path as part of your project please share any useful hints and tips in the comments section below.

We hope Community Spaces has helped to inspire groups to take on other projects in their neighbourhood. However, now that the Community Spaces programme has drawn to an end, where can groups go for extra funding?

We have been doing some research to find out what other similar grant schemes are available to community groups looking to improve their local area.

To view all the grants available, visit our website.

Not only is this week the beginning of spring, it’s the start of Climate Week.

Climate Week is a national occasion running from the 21^st-27^th March, which is campaigning to raise our awareness and ambition to tackle climate change.

To do your bit to tackle climate change, your group can hold an event in your newly developed Community Spaces project to help raise awareness about the ongoing issues surrounding our climate.

The event could be a talk, workshop, training session, a party or any other kind of activity.

For more information about the kind of events you can run or what you can do to help combat climate change, visit the Climate Week website.

Let us know what you’ll be doing for Climate Week!

Holbrook Parish Plan Group have been celebrating as one of their youngest members wins the Young Achievers Award.

The community nominated Emily Staton for the award because of all the dedication and hard work Emily showed when the group was fundraising for a new playground. When Emily was just 14 years old, she led a small group of teenagers to conduct a survey and present the results to the Holbrook Parish Plan Group requesting a refurbishment of a very dilapidated play area in their village.

Emily then led a presentation at a Parish Plan meeting to 80 residents, gaining full support from everyone attending. Following Emily’s hard work and perseverance, the community group secured £49,999 from Community Spaces to refurbish the tired and neglected play area.

Emily’s mum, Sue Staton said her daughter was over whelmed when she won the award. “It was such a great achievement for her. Emily was in complete shock that she had even been nominated, so when she won the award, it was a fantastic surprise. It is something she will treasure forever. Everyone in the community is so proud of her.”

A fantastic story on our website today about a mother of two who worked against the clock to secure £47,000 from Community Spaces.

Tracy Evans tells us how she juggled family life, application writing and event organising to secure the much needed funding for a new playground to be built in her busy community at St Margarets at Cliffe.

To read the full story, visit our website.

Here at Community Spaces, we love to hear about community groups that have been recognised for their great achievements.

However, it is rare when we here about a group that has won four awards in the space of two years!

The Iremongers Pond Association was created two and a half years ago when they obtained the lease for Iremongers Pond in Nottingham. Over the past couple of years, the group and local volunteers have put a great deal of volunteering time and effort into improving the pond and it’s surroundings for both fishing, walking and natural enjoyment.

Back in November, the group received just over £21,000 from Community Spaces to create a walkway around the pond so people can enjoy walking safely around the area.

The group’s hard work and community involvement has meant that the group have won four community based awards.

The first award they won was the National Association of Neighbourhood Management, Cleaner and Greener Innovations Award back in 2009. 

Following this, the group went on to be in the highest awarding category for the East Midlands in Bloom competition for two years running.

Then, 2010 saw the group win a Green Flag Community Award, and already this year, the group have been awarded the ‘Clubmark for Angling’ award that recognises quality, well-managed angling clubs.

However, it’s not just community awards that the group are being nominated for. They have recently been short listed for the NVCO photo competition.

Julian Taylor, chairman of the Iremongers Pond Association took a photo (pictured above) of Bill Roughton, the groups secretary when he was cleaning out the pond, and it has been shorted listed for the photo competition.

Congratulations to the group for all their success and we look forward to seeing the finished project when it launches in May.

Another fantastic Community Spaces launch!

The Friends of Riverside Park celebrated their newly built playground opening last week with celebrity TV presenter Chris Packham.

To read the full story, visit our website.

GreenSpace, a charity working to improve parks and open spaces, are asking all community groups to take part in a questionnaire which aims to collect data on resources and abilities, as well as thoughts, ideas and needs of community-based groups involved within parks and green spaces across the UK

The questionnaire should take no longer then 15 minutes and will help GreenSpace form a report for the sector that will help everyone shape the future of green spaces across the country.

The Community Networking Project questionnaire was originally completed in 2003 when over 1,000 responses were received, helping to quantify the level and value of involvement and identify requirements for the groups in the future. The report was widely publicised and seen as a benchmark study within the sector.

GreenSpace requests your help in distributing and publicising this important survey.

Community group representatives can fill out the survey online before Friday 25 February. 

Climate Week is a national programme that is designed to renew our ambition and confidence to combat climate change. It is for everyone wanting to do their bit to protect our planet and create a secure future.

This week will shine a spotlight on the positive steps that are already been taken by workplaces and communities across Britain who want to make a difference to their world.

During the week, thousands of events and activities are being planned by orgnisations to help combat climate change.  But how can you help?

Climate Week is all about raising awareness, so why don’t you hold an event in your newly developed Community Spaces project? Bring everyone together at your project and see what steps your community can take to tackle climate change.

To find more about Climate Week and tips on how to hold your own event, visit the Climate Week website.