Did you know that Papa’s Park has received no funding since 2016? The park is completely volunteer-run – by a committee of local residents who give their time for free to manage the park and raise money to ensure the park gates stay open 365 days a year.
Our previous fundraising
In 2018, the committee successfully fundraised £105,000 to fully update all the playground equipment.
In 2019, we raised £50,000 from Sport England to replace the ageing sports pitch with a flood-lit, all-weather football, basketball and netball pitch combined.
We are now planning to raise money to replace our community building that houses Papa’s Café, the hall and the toilets.
The current community building
The current building is 25 years old, was originally built to house street sweeping equipment and is not fit for purpose. It is coming to the end of its lifespan and showing its age: it is cold, damp, consumes energy at an alarming rate, and the roof has had to be patched up with plastic sheeting to prevent it leaking.
Our plans for the future
We have designs for a fantastic new eco building, and planning permission has been granted by the local council.
As it does now, it will house Papa’s Café, a community hall available to hire for affordable rates, and 2 toilets. However, it will be a third larger, warmer, lighter and very energy efficient, meaning it will cost much less to run. It will also be more flexible - so can be used for multiple uses - and accessible to all. You can see our plans in detail here.
We have estimated that building and fitting out the new building will cost £500,000. We are currently approaching charities, corporations and trusts to try and raise the money we need.
How can you help?
Please fill in our Park User Survey. If, like us, you are a regular user of the park, you will know that we attract a wide range of people. But to help show potential funders that the park is well-used, by a diverse community, it would hugely help if you could fill in the form for us. The form also shows how much of an impact it will make to have a new community building.
If you know any companies or charities that fund this type of project, please let us know at papasparkltd@gmail.com.
Finally, if you yourself are able to donate to our fund, every penny or pound will help. Many thanks!
Photos of the current hall
Images of how the new hall might look
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