Latest news with #communityspace
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Methodist church in Boston gets £250,000 for renovation work
Boston's Centenary Methodist Church has been awarded £250,000 for renovations by the borough church said the funding was vital for the upkeep of the Grade II* listed plans to create a new community room, and said the money would help support the services it provides to people in money has been allocated from Levelling Up funds. The Reverend Val Ogden told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: "We need to do things like doors and floors and walls."We had damp problems to fix. We needed to refurbish one of the upper rooms that's underused at the moment, which will be for community space."The church provides services including community meals and providing a warm space during cold church said in a statement: "This investment ensures the long-term future of a cherished community space that serves people across the town and the borough."Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
CTV News
23-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Construction begins on Innisfil's first fully accessible park
Work is now underway on Margaretta Park, a new community space that will feature Innisfil's first fully accessible playground. The park is being built in the Sleeping Lion subdivision, located north of 6th Line and east of 20th Sideroad. At 3.5 hectares, it will be one of the largest parks in town and easy to reach from surrounding roads. Margaretta Park will include: A fully inclusive playground with rubber surfacing A splash pad Multi-use trails Parking and washrooms Picnic areas, shade structures, and garbage bins Naturalized green space with trees and plantings The idea for an accessible park came from the Innisfil Accessibility Advisory Committee (IAAC), which has worked with the Town since 2016 to make public spaces more inclusive. While many parks now have features for children with different abilities, space and budget limits can make it hard to include equipment for wheelchair users at every site. To fix this, the IAAC proposed building one large 'Champion Park' with full wheelchair access. In consultation with Town staff, the IAAC chose this central location to make it easier for people across Innisfil to visit. One highlight of the playground will be the We-Go-Swing, which allows wheelchair users to roll on and swing safely with others. The park is named in honour of Margaretta Papp-Belayneh, a former chair of the IAAC whose dedication to accessibility helped inspire the project. The Innisfil Beach Cruisers Car Club donated $12,000 toward the project. Construction is expected to be finished by summer 2026.
BBC News
19-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
The urban orchard cooling London during heatwaves
Turn off the busy, hectic, Cable Street in Tower Hamlets, walk through the estate, turn a corner and you are suddenly in the middle of lots and lots of fruit is an orchard of fifty trees of apples, quinces, plums, pears, cherries and crab apples, and it is right in the middle of St George's was planted in 2013 by the charity Trees for Ford, who lives in the nearby tower block, remembers seeing the trees being planted. Soon he was involved in watering them and became one of a very small number of people who look after the orchards. Jim Ford, who lives in the nearby tower block, remembers seeing the trees being planted. Soon he was involved in watering them and became one of a very small number of people who look after the orchards."It's very popular, especially when the fruit comes out - it's even more popular then," he said."We don't actually get to see a lot of the fruit. We love the fact it's an open space, a community space. We get people from outside who see there's some fruit, they'll take the fruit. It's fine, that's what it's there for to be eaten. ""The trees cool the area. Just walk around here and it's a much cooler area than Cable Street or the Highway. In this environment you wouldn't know it's there." London's warming and its trees and their shade help cool the climate although the heatwaves themselves can put native species under Council has also warned people not to sit or congregate under large trees after a rise in the number of falling says there has been an increase of Sudden Branch Drop Syndrome which it says has been made worse by the at the charity Trees for Cities are expecting to see an increase in trees dying or dropping branches as the climate Sadiq Khan plans to increase London's canopy by 10% by 2050. The orchard scheme is seen as a blueprint with other estates now copying the idea. Emma Peet from the charity Trees for Cities said planting in inner London was particularly important."London does have eight million trees but they are not distributed evenly across the city," she said."Tower Hamlets where we are now has only about 8 to 10% canopy coverage but because of this orchard in this estate, it has risen to 19% tree cover. "Making urban forests more equitable and more accessible for communities is all part of it."She added: "Urban forests bring so many benefits from shade on a hot day, biodiversity and the air feels cleaner. It also is an important communal space."
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Waverley Council approves £650k Cranleigh skate park plans
A "much-needed" new skate park is to be built in a Surrey after a local authority backed spending nearly £650,000 in developer money on the Borough Council unanimously approved the plans to replace the current out-dated facility in Cranleigh Leisure Centre at a meeting on new funding will be used to purchase land for the skate park as well as its Borough Council portfolio holder for planning Liz Townsend said the skate park had been "long anticipated and will be a much-needed and necessary upgrade". She added the park would be an "important addition to recreational facilities in Cranleigh and the surrounding villages which have experienced significant development over the past few years".Planning permission was given in March 2025 to replace the leisure centre, including tearing down the old skate details surrounding the project are still being kept confidential – including where it will be built, according to the Local Democracy Reporting project will be fully funded by contributions from developers through Section 106 funding and money from the Community Infrastructure Townsend added: "There is a huge amount of interest in the project already and its design."There are some extremely enthusiastic future users of this facility."The new skate park represents a fantastic opportunity to build a new and existing community space on a new site."Leader of the opposition Jane Austin added the new skate park was "really great for Cranleigh".
BBC News
08-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Proposals to refurbish and extend Invergarry church
An 87-year-old Lochaber church could undergo a major plans for St Finnan's RC Church in Invergarry aim to preserve its historical character and refurbish the building's interior and extension has also been proposed which would increase seating capacity, improve accessibility and provide toilet facilities. The external refurbishment would include repairs to leadwork, gutters and downpipes. A stained glass window would also be added. There would be improved external lighting and access pathways, as well as the installation of an energy-efficient lighting and heating system. Reconfiguration of the internal layout has been proposed to create a community planning application from the church is currently under consideration by Highland Council.
