Month: March 2016

Thanks to our efforts, the new play area in Pittville Park will be fully complete when it opens in late May. This is only possible because Friends of Pittville have managed to raise over £90,000 from grants, council funds and through a public appeal – so a big thank you to everybody who has contributed. Completing the project in one phase will save both money and further disruption, so it is really good news.

Cllr Chris Coleman, Cabinet Member for Clean and Green Environment, said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Friends of Pittville for all their support with this project.”

Some of our regular Green Space volunteers and a few residents came out last Sunday to ‘clean for the queen’, a national event in which forty-seven Cheltenham groups participated.  We were in Pittville Lawn and enjoyed a coffee at Central Cross Cafe. See if you can tell where we made a difference!

Over 100 people (some anonymous) have generously supported our public fundraising appeal for the new play area in Pittville Park. To see a list of names of those who have contributed as at 13 April 2016, please click here.

Fundraising for the new play area has been gathering pace!

• In addition to the £4,400 received through crowdfunding, donors on JustGiving have also been generous, with at least £1,500 raised (plus Gift Aid to be added). One donor, Jessica Lacy, has raised nearly £600 for the project.
• £1,770 has been received by cheque, including £500 from Miss Carole Clifford and and another £500 from the Young family (Alex, Andy, Freddie and Lawrence) who own Ravenhurst Luxury Bed & Breakfast at 93 Pittville Lawn and say that the boys love the park and play area.
• We’ve been awarded a grant of £25,000 towards refurbishing the aviaries and small animal enclosures from the Landfill Communities Fund, operated by the Gloucestershire Environmental Trust and provided by Cory Environmental.
• Finally, Cheltenham Borough Council released new funds for the project last week. The Cabinet has earmarked an additional £99,500 to add to the sum raised through crowdfunding, grants and donations.

As a result, the work on the play area will now be completed in one phase and the new equipment is expected to be in place by June, with an official opening in early July.