Project: Children’s playground
Loan: £12,000
Richings Park Sports Club are a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) offering tennis, bowls, football and a gymnasium.
Prior to this project being completed, there was not a children’s playground in Richings Park. Although the village has almost 700 family homes, a lack of land has meant a playground has never been feasible.
The sports club set-up a petition to see if there was any support from residents to build a playground and received 200 signatures in less than a week.
With the knowledge that there was a need locally, the sports club agreed to set aside part of their playing fields to accommodate a playground with equipment suitable for young children. In collaboration with the Resident’s Association they began fundraising in order to build the playground.
The project received nearly £40,000 from the HS2 Community Environment Fund, as well as a grant of £1,500 from our South Bucks District Council fund.
The club also applied to Heart of Bucks for a loan of £12,000 to bridge the gap between the funds required by the contractor and the payment schedule for the approved grants, allowing the playground to be built.
Graham Young, Director at Richings Park Sports Club said:
Every day of the week the Richings Park Playground is bustling with children, bringing together local kids and parents and helping to build a happier, healthier and more cohesive community.
We estimate that more than 500 children from the local area have used the playground, from within Richings Park and from the wider area in Bucks.
