Children and families are enjoying a new play area at Shaftesbury Park, which follows successful partnership work with Burnt Ash Primary School and grant funding from Veolia Environmental Trust.
The improved play area now includes new toddler and junior swings, with the toddler and junior climbing frame and slide also replaced, with other play equipment upgraded. The improvement work at Shaftesbury Park, Bromley, also includes new seating in the play area and the restoration of the pond, which will help improve the local habitat and nature biodiversity, providing a nearby educational resource that Burnt Ash Primary School will be able to use for outdoor learning.
The upgraded park facilities, officially opened by the Mayor of Bromley, Councillor Christine Harris, provide play opportunities for local children and families into the next generation. The initiative was made possible through a £75k grant from Veolia Environmental Trust made through the Landfill Communities Fund, council funding allocated from the £23k Platinum Jubilee Parks Fund assigned for the project, and Section 106 funding. The total improvement project costs around £105k, with the project being made possible with the support of Burnt Ash Primary School and the wider school community.
Councillor Christine Harris, the Mayor of Bromley said, “This is another example of great partnership work making a difference and a big thank you to Veolia Environmental Trust for their grant funding and to Burnt Ash Primary school and the wider school community for their support as well. It was lovely to see the improvements to the play area which I know the next generation of children are already enjoying.”
Andrew Brown, Executive Director, Veolia Environmental Trust, said: "It is always heartening to see environmentalists of all ages taking action to improve their local areas, with the students at Burnt Ash Primary submitting an excellent video as part of the London Borough of Bromley’s application to the Veolia Environmental Trust. Thanks to these young residents, and the support of Bromley Council, the local community's vision has come to life. We hope the transformation will boost biodiversity and provide an invaluable outdoor learning and play resource for years to come."
The Veolia Environmental Trust has been supporting projects through the Landfill Communities Fund since 1997. To date, it has distributed £115 million, funding 2,971 grants for projects ranging from nature reserves to community initiatives such as the renovation of The London Borough of Bromley’s Shaftesbury Park. For more information about Veolia Environmental Trust, please visit https://www.veoliatrust.org.
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Editor’s notes:
- The £1million of funding for Bromley’s Parks supports proposals for a range of enhancements across the borough, including improvements to play areas, enhancements to the natural beauty of public gardens, or biodiversity and upgrading facilities.
- Applications for the Platinum Jubilee Parks Fund were invited for up to £40,000 of funding available for each ward with a ceiling of £20,000 for each proposal, a wide variety of additional applications are expected over the lifetime of the fund.
- The Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) is a tax credit scheme enabling Landfill Operators (LOs) to contribute money to organisations enrolled with ENTRUST as Environmental Bodies (EBs). They use this funding for a wide range of community and environmental projects in the vicinity of landfill sites. LOs are able to claim a credit (currently 5.3 per cent) against their landfill tax liability for 90 per cent of the contributions they make. Since its inception in 1996, over £1.7 billion has been spent on over 70,000 projects across the UK. For further information, please visit www.entrust.org.uk or see HMRC’s general guide to Landfill Tax.
- The Veolia Environmental Trust has been supporting community and environmental projects through the Landfill Communities Fund for over 25 years. Since we were established in 1997, Veolia has supported us with contributions totalling over £115 million, enabling over 2,971 projects to successfully complete. These have included ones to repair woodland footpaths, improve community halls and the install skateparks and playgrounds. For more information, or to find out how to apply for funding, visit the Veolia Environmental Trust website.
For media enquiries, please contact Andrew Rogers, Head of Public Affairs, on 020 8461 7670 or email andrew.rogers@bromley.gov.uk