Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick announced in March 2020 that 68 community groups will receive funding to transform neglected urban spaces into thriving green spaces.
The £1.35 million funding will help community groups create 19 brand new parks and refurbish 49 currently unused and unloved plots of land. They will be transformed into thriving parks and green spaces to increase biodiversity, encourage community integration and tackle loneliness.
Ten of the 68 are in London:
- Friends of Feltham Green in Hounslow, west London, is a group of supporters and volunteers helping look after the Green, the Duck Pond and the Freddie Mercury Community Garden.
- St Matthews Estate Tenants and Residents Association in Lambeth care for communal spaces on and around this south London estate.
- Haringey’s Wolves Lane Consortium care for a 3 acre community hub growing and distributing food in north London.
- There was a combined bid from the Oasis Community Hub Hadley and Ponders End Community Development Trust in Enfield, north London.
- Friends of Wiseworks [@wiseworksinfo] are supporters of the Wiseworks pre-vocational centre for people with mental health conditions, based in Harrow.
- Bankside Open Spaces Trust on the Southbank in central London.
- ETNA Community Centre in Twickenham runs a community centre and kitchen with a social café.
- The Friends of Roxbourne Park in the Borough of Harrow help the council manage and maintain the park, part of which lies in Hillingdon.
- The Grove Park Community Group in Bromley was another one of the successful bidders.
- The Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs make it ten. The 30+ dinosaur sculptures depicted in Crystal Palace Park have large cracks in their bodies and limbs, and some are in danger of losing toes, teeth, tails and antlers. Outdoor sculptures are particularly at risk from damage and deterioration, and the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs have so far endured more than 150 years exposed to the elements.
