Breaking news: we have just received a major grant from the SIB Group. DCLG Minister Stephen Williams announced the names of the 17 successful recipients of the Community Ownership & Management of Assets Capital Grant today, who will receive capital investments totalling just over £5m for ambitious and innovative ideas for a local building or land of community value to help these to stay within community ownership.
The £287,998 grant will allow us to complete most of the restoration work in the Bedfords Park Walled Garden and turn it into an attractive community focused space to grow and learn about food, aiming to turn the management over to the community in 5 year. In the next few months we will be finishing repairs to the walls, restoring the fernery and the pineapple houses, and putting up 70m of glasshouses as well as 40m of cold-frames. The works will be completed by April 2014 and will provide us with a fantastic infrastructure to begin growing in earnest and carry out our programme of workshops, classes and activities with the local community.
We would like to thank the SIB Group for their generous support and our project partners the Friends of Bedfords Park and Havering Council for all their hard work in helping to bring the Walled Garden back to life.