With more and more outdoor locations being built upon to make way for houses, shops and offices, the open spaces that remain within bustling cities and towns have become increasingly more valuable. Proffitts – Investing in Communities, an organisation keen to regenerate and improve communities by improving their surroundings, has recognised the preciousness of utilising green areas to help kerb antisocial behaviour and has set about to save and improve an old, abandoned recreational ground with a new project.
Hargher Clough Recreation Ground in Burnley became disused over the years and had a huge amount of potential to become much more useful and accessible for local residents. Proffitts identified this opportunity and engaged with the surrounding community directly to find out what they would like to see done to the existing ground. This enabled a regeneration plan to be created and, as a result of this effort, work is currently taking place to transform the tired old ground into a fantastic new ‘multi-use game area’ for local people to use. The site will be a fantastic venue for playing a variety of sports, such as football, basketball and cricket, as well as providing a social space to spend time outdoors in a pleasant environment. Young people are encouraged to make use of the new facility to the fullest extent possible and different sections of the new area will cater for people of different age groups meaning that there is something for everyone, with features such as a toddler zone and even an outdoor gym.
Proffitts specialises in regenerating community spaces in ways that will improve life for the local people there and provide residents with a wealth of entertainment so that bored civilians are not tempted to be resort to anti-social behaviour as a means of keeping busy. This particular project has been made possible by £30,000 grant from the Lancashire Environment Fund grants of £24,000 and £10,000 from The Veolia Environmental Trust and Social landlord Calico respectively. These grants show that there is a shared understanding of the necessity of pleasant outdoor landscapes in our communities and are an encouraging sign that improving communities is an ongoing priority.
The project is due for completion in mid-August, leaving plenty of time for locals to enjoy the new multi-use ground before summer is over.
If you have a great idea that will benefit your community, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Proffitts. Any project can seem like a mountain to climb when there is so much to organise – funding, planning, designing, management etc but with our involvement, we can help you get there. Proffitts will assist you every step of the way and help you deliver that much needed project successfully.