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One year to save PAPA's Park

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MissL

Well-Known Member
This breaks my heart. If anyone is able to help out or knows anyone who can, then please spread the word. Maybe Squire & Partners can stump up some cash since they're just over the road from the park :)


PAPA's Park Harvest Funday 1st October
One year to save the park


Dear All

Papa's Park is under threat. Our inspectors have ruled that the large climbing frame in the middle of the park, and the surrounding soft surfacing, will only last another year before it must be totally replaced. If it is condemned then it will be impossible to keep the park open.

In order to replace the frame and surfacing we need to raise £50,000. We no longer receive funding from Lambeth Council, so this target is going to be a huge challenge. We need to get a lot of funding from outside sources, we need to get it in the next year, and so we need all the people who value the park to rally round.

Do you have skills do you want to volunteer?
We need fundraisers who can help our fundraising manager with any of the following activities: approaching trusts and foundations, drafting/editing applications, running fundraising events, approaching corporations and setting up crowdfunding initiatives. We also need a treasurer, a membership secretary and marketeers.

Do your employers run a scheme donating to small charities? If so, please do consider PAPA's Park. We are a registered charity (Charities Commission number 1133711).

Do you know Park users who might sign up for our membership scheme? It's just £15 per year and provides us with much needed funds for the upkeep of Papas. Visit www.papaspark.co.uk/become-a-member.

If you can help, or have any further suggestions, please drop a note to papasparkltd@gmail.com.

And now for the good news!

This Sunday, 1st October, we have a Harvest Festival Fun Day with storytelling and children's activities from local community garden groups. It runs from noon - 4pm and we hope you can join in with the celebrations.

Jude's football tournament was very popular with the children who attended and it would be great to do more, but we'd need more volunteers to help out. Are you interested in regularly helping run football events? Email papasparkltd@gmail.com.

Finally, Nelia has moved on from running the cafe and we wish her all the best for the future. Valcie has come in as the new cafe operator, and is open Tuesday to Saturday, serving delicious food, drinks and snacks. Remember that rent from the cafe pays for the park running costs, so all purchases help keep the park open.

We look forward to seeing you in the park soon,

Mark, Jacquie, Penny, Dyfed, Sarah, Laura and Rachael
PAPA's Park committee
 
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There's some mayor and other funding prospects in the LJ adventure playground thread.

You've / They've also not tapped into the easy £10ks from Awards for All funds. That won't be suitable for the frame etc. but might give you some more capacity etc?

Does LVAC still offer funding advice support?
 
MissL said:
This breaks my heart. If anyone is able to help out or knows anyone who can, then please spread the word. Maybe Squire & Partners can stump up some cash since they're just over the road from the park :)


PAPA's Park Harvest Funday 1st October
One year to save the park


Dear All

Papa's Park is under threat. Our inspectors have ruled that the large climbing frame in the middle of the park, and the surrounding soft surfacing, will only last another year before it must be totally replaced. If it is condemned then it will be impossible to keep the park open.

In order to replace the frame and surfacing we need to raise £50,000. We no longer receive funding from Lambeth Council, so this target is going to be a huge challenge. We need to get a lot of funding from outside sources, we need to get it in the next year, and so we need all the people who value the park to rally round.

Do you have skills do you want to volunteer?
We need fundraisers who can help our fundraising manager with any of the following activities: approaching trusts and foundations, drafting/editing applications, running fundraising events, approaching corporations and setting up crowdfunding initiatives. We also need a treasurer, a membership secretary and marketeers.

Do your employers run a scheme donating to small charities? If so, please do consider PAPA's Park. We are a registered charity (Charities Commission number 1133711).

Do you know Park users who might sign up for our membership scheme? It's just £15 per year and provides us with much needed funds for the upkeep of Papas. Visit www.papaspark.co.uk/become-a-member.

If you can help, or have any further suggestions, please drop a note to papasparkltd@gmail.com.

And now for the good news!

This Sunday, 1st October, we have a Harvest Festival Fun Day with storytelling and children's activities from local community garden groups. It runs from noon - 4pm and we hope you can join in with the celebrations.

Jude's football tournament was very popular with the children who attended and it would be great to do more, but we'd need more volunteers to help out. Are you interested in regularly helping run football events? Email papasparkltd@gmail.com.

Finally, Nelia has moved on from running the cafe and we wish her all the best for the future. Valcie has come in as the new cafe operator, and is open Tuesday to Saturday, serving delicious food, drinks and snacks. Remember that rent from the cafe pays for the park running costs, so all purchases help keep the park open.

We look forward to seeing you in the park soon,

Mark, Jacquie, Penny, Dyfed, Sarah, Laura and Rachael
PAPA's Park committee
Click to expand...
Let me Buzz this ASAP.
 
That's a huge amount of money for a climbing frame and some matting. I wonder whether there is there scope to reduce that?
 
Hello I'm really sorry to read this.
I'll PM you a couple of suggestions for funding but before doing anything else I'd suggest checking out the costing you've been given of £50,000.
Was it the Playground Inspector who told you that figure?

These people (APES) were amazingly helpful to us (up the road here in Loughborough Junction with our adventure playground) Fundraising
I'd highly recommend getting in touch with them especially John.
 
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This lovely park must be saved, I used to take my youngest son there, then both my granddaughters an now occasionally
my little great grandson. Over the years the Park has had it's ups and downs, but now it's better than it ever was.
Lots of families with young children, especially at weekends and the Café is the best its ever been.
Also the fauna and flora are wonderful. Please help if you can.
 
bimble said:
Hello I'm really sorry to read this.
I'll PM you a couple of suggestions for funding but before doing anything else I'd suggest checking out the costing you've been given of £50,000.
Was it the Playground Inspector who told you that figure?

These people (APES) were amazingly helpful to us (up the road here in Loughborough Junction with our adventure playground) Fundraising
I'd highly recommend getting in touch with them especially John.
Click to expand...

To add to this the Council were arguing that it would cost thousands to get the Grove APG in Loughborough Junction up to scratch. This, surprisingly:rolleyes: , turned out not to be the case. It was volunteer labour plus some expert paid for work that did it. For only small amount of money.

But then the Council officers had been trying to persuade us in LJ that selling the land off was the best option for the local community.
 
MissL said:
This breaks my heart. If anyone is able to help out or knows anyone who can, then please spread the word. Maybe Squire & Partners can stump up some cash since they're just over the road from the parke
Click to expand...

One of the things I learned from volunteering at Grove APG in Loughborough Junction was that years ago these community spaces were well funded. One person who grew up in LJ said the Grove APG was home from home. Open weekends and evenings with a lot of activities. This was normal. This was sixties and seventies. Council run.

It gets to me the the contrast between extreme wealth and community places like this under threat in one small area. It's getting far to common across London.

It's one sign of the increase in social inequality since seventies.
 
This is terrible. PAPAS is such an amazing community facility and not just a park. I must admit I haven't been since my daughter left primary but when she was we went almost every day after school as it was on the way home.
It was full of local kids, parents, local gossip and fun. The kids grew and harvested plants, parents helped with this and we all mucked in. Such a shame to hear it might go.
 
Hi, just a quick update on this to answer some of the questions.

The fifty grand is the cost of a new large climbing frame + soft surface underneath it + installation + removal of old climbing frame + VAT. It’s a round number but the various quotes we’ve got are all coming in at that kind of sum.

The old climbing frame has been fixed up with temporary repairs for year after year after year. It’s signed off as safe for now but it’s costing thousands each year to keep it that way, and the main timbers are rotting from the ground up, so it’s running out of foundations to build the repairs on and the inspectors think that they’re not going to be able to sign it off next year. We could theoretically remove it completely and fill in the holes left in the ground - which would be cheaper but it would no longer work well as a play space with the key component gone - and the slide, roundabout, tyre swing, soft surface, fences and toddler play area are all aging at the same rate so ideally all need replacing together. We’re trying to raise as much money as possible to get everything done together, so we’re blitzing all the possible donors in the hope of replacing everything together.

We’re through to the voting round of the Aviva fund which someone mentioned upthread and we’ll be asking for everyone’s support once the voting site goes live on the 24th October.

It’s lovely to hear people’s kind words, we know how special the park is to so many people. We’ll update with more details later.
 
PapasPark said:
Hi, just a quick update on this to answer some of the questions.

The fifty grand is the cost of a new large climbing frame + soft surface underneath it + installation + removal of old climbing frame + VAT. It’s a round number but the various quotes we’ve got are all coming in at that kind of sum.

The old climbing frame has been fixed up with temporary repairs for year after year after year. It’s signed off as safe for now but it’s costing thousands each year to keep it that way, and the main timbers are rotting from the ground up, so it’s running out of foundations to build the repairs on and the inspectors think that they’re not going to be able to sign it off next year. We could theoretically remove it completely and fill in the holes left in the ground - which would be cheaper but it would no longer work well as a play space with the key component gone - and the slide, roundabout, tyre swing, soft surface, fences and toddler play area are all aging at the same rate so ideally all need replacing together. We’re trying to raise as much money as possible to get everything done together, so we’re blitzing all the possible donors in the hope of replacing everything together.

We’re through to the voting round of the Aviva fund which someone mentioned upthread and we’ll be asking for everyone’s support once the voting site goes live on the 24th October.

It’s lovely to hear people’s kind words, we know how special the park is to so many people. We’ll update with more details later.
Click to expand...


The Coop Community fund should be interested in a project like this.

Local community fund
 
Happy to help however possible - no fundraising experience but happy to flyer / send emails / do administration / shake collection buckets
 
Rachael Neville said:
Please help us to save the Park by voting for us in the Aviva Fund. We could get £25,000 which would be such an enormous help, and would convince other funders to match the amount. Saving Papas Park - vote for us now in the Aviva Community Fund If you could share with your networks, that would be incredibly helpful.
Click to expand...
:(

We're sorry.
Aviva Community Fund is busy right now.

Aviva Community Fund can get exceptionally busy during voting periods, but please try again in a few minutes.
Click to expand...
 
The Aviva site was incredibly laggy yesterday and early today, but it seems to be working OK now, so if people could give it a go in the next few days at Rachel’s link above that would be brilliant. It’s open until the 21st November so please do spread the word over the next few weeks.

(The reason why it crashed so badly at first is that the smaller awards are set up as a simple speed race to 1,000 votes - no wonder they were overloaded!)
 
Great to see that the Buzz piece has picked up a load of page views on the site and a shitload of angry responses on FB...
 
I often cycle by Papas park. Always thought what a good space it was with a lot of different activities.

Ongoing issue with these spaces is that the Council will not gaurentee the sites. I notice from article the present leases runs out in a few years.

Same problem with the Grove APG in Loughborough Junction. Whilst funding been obtained by volunteers ( no help from Council) to reopen it there is no definite promise from Council that they will not sell off the land.

I can understand at this time Council cannot always fund these places. It's not a statutory duty. But there are elements in Council who want to dispose of these assets.

Once land like this is sold that's it. In future it will not be possible to start new facility else where.

Imo Council should state that it will not sell these sites. Even if they have to be closed in short term.

Another thing. Getting grants for large structural repairs requires some gaurentee of life of a site.
 
Nearly one year on, back to update this with some very good news. A lot of people worked very hard on fundraising and have raised the money for a complete replacement of the play equipment and soft surfaces.

Grants have come from Veolia and Suez trusts, but a key portion came from Lambeth’s Community Infrastructure Levy funds, and that wouldn’t have happened without all the people who spoke up and said how much they valued the space, so thank you very much to everyone who did that, or who made other donations.

There will be a funday on Saturday 8th September and the park will close for rebuilding for a few weeks from Monday 10th September.

Still more work to be done resurfacing the sports area, and as anyone who’s been in the cafe on a rainy day will know, the hall badly needs a rebuild, but this is a fantastic start.
 
One more thing to mention is that Valcie is planning to keep the cafe open during the playground rebuild, timings to be confirmed but probably opening earlier and closing earlier.

So please do keep dropping in for morning coffees and lunches - it’s a great way to support the park.
 
Quick note to say that the playground is now open. Some delays with the work, but it’s all looking great and the kids are loving the new equipment which should last for many years to come.

Plans for more landscaping in the New Year. Watch this space for news on the sports pitch and the hall/cafe.

Look forward to seeing you there (and please do support the cafe if you’re passing and in need of a coffee/snack/meal).
 
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