Achievments 2012- 2015
What the Friends of Springfield Park Ltd, Volunteer group (FoSP) have installed and renovated in around three years:
- Repaired the drainage system to the lower part of the park in the land surrounding the medieval mere.
- Funded and Installed 10 x twin pieces of outdoor exercise equipment
- Replaced the artificial cricket square on the top field.
- Installed 2 new tarmac, casual, kick pitches with a basketball facility too.
- Installed a new park notice board.
- Installed 2 dipping platforms on the mere for local school children’s educational use.
- Installed an extra wide entrance gate and an additional extra wide exit gate with grass reinforcing material to accommodate fund raising car boot sales.
- Improved a small area for additional parking – more to follow.
- Installed many new, vandal proof litter bins - more to follow.
- Installed partial new fencing around the mere – more to follow.
- Funded the purchase of several hundreds of plants and shrubs for the park's herbaceous borders.
- Formed a close educational relationship with the local Matthew Moss High School who now use the park on a regular basis for projects, particularly those associated with the Manchester University Life Sciences Dept.
- Installed a restricting access gate from the River Roch steel bridge into Springfield Wood and park.
- Renovated a facilities room in the stone coaching barn for the use of school and young peoples' groups, appropriately named the 'Jubilee Room'
- Renovated pathways through Springfield Wood area giving access to the River Roch.
NB*** Items 14 & 15 have been brought about by the successful application for a £50,000-00 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund***
- We have secured funding and laid down a hard standing area and now have installed 9 vandal proof picnic tables, plus access paths, for approx. 40 persons, including adaptations for disabled users.
- Created a substantial tree nursery with Matthew Moss High School in the park.
Currently under consideration & hoping to be installed very soon
- Funding raised for the installation of a wide walkway around the mere for the enjoyment of all park users regardless of ability
- Additional parking, lower park area – first phase along the access road, additional parking areas to be discussed and decided.
- Renovation of 9 Herbaceous Beds together with RMBC Env. Mgmnt Dept.
- Additional park Notice Board
- Memorial Bench & Plaque project within Springfield Park
****We are planning our biggest £1 million plus project to renovate Mereside House into a Café and Events Rooms, incorporating toilet facilities, and additional parking, using as many eco-friendly materials and processes as we can, plus pathway lighting. However this is almost certainly going to be anything up to a 2 year project, but we hope to have some fuller financial details within the next 6 to 12 months.
At the same time we intend to extend current childrens’ play area as part of the same plan. Additionally, we intend to raise sufficient money to dredge and fully renovate the mere.
What we plan to achieve as ongoing projects
- Working with Matthew Moss High School on installing mini horticultural project in half of the unused grass events courts, also involving local primary school pupils.
- Renovate the badly neglected, but still regularly used, running track, solely for, different casual uses.
- We have a possible project to build a sensory garden - area yet to be decided.
- Discussing with the Springhill Hospice, the possible installation of a rose bush, Garden of Remembrance
- Steel, permanent, vandalproof tennis court nets.
- Additional funding applied for re: more hoop top, mere perimeter fencing.
Friends of Springfield Park Ltd Registered Charity No. 1140523
Our Mission is………”to delight our community by exceeding its expectations”
Contact: springfieldpark2009@hotmail.co.uk