Bringing Groups Together

Who? Where? When?

Derelict land in an urban area adjacent to Rock Park. November 2005 to March 2006. The partners:

• Halton Borough Council - Parks and Countryside Service; Landscape Services
• Friends of Rock Park ( local residents developing and improving the park).
• Grange Junior School (local primary).
• Community Punishment, Cheshire Probation Service (offenders on community orders)
• Halton & Warrington Youth Offending Team (youth offenders doing community work)
• Astmoor Day Services (adults with physical and mental disabilities)
• Pingot Day Centre (adults with physical and mental disabilities)
• Halton High School LSU (school children with behavioural problems on ‘out of school projects’)

Objectives

• To involve a wide selection of groups with various levels of expertise and abilities, working separately, but towards the same goal.
• To enhance the aesthetic appeal of the park and encourage the local community to apprieciate its value.

The Process

The local authority worked with the Friends group to plan the project, assist with the funding application and organise group participation. They communicated the work tasks and aims of the project to the local community and also brought and supplemented the raw materials to undertake the task.

Achievements and Outcomes

• The number of groups who were willing to help
• The groups willingness to work in a co-ordinated system
• Successfully converting derelict land into an attractive and welcoming space
• Providing the local community with the opportunity to put something back into their open spaces.

Lessons Learnt / Key Advice

• Several groups can work on a project, each functioning independently from the others.
• The project could have involved even more groups.