COMMUNITY FUNDS
A proposal to create a
‘woodland oasis’ in Park
Royal and another to
reinvent an open space
for the community in
Hanwell have been
declared the winners of
a share of £200,000.
Reverend
Mark Melluish in
the St Mellitus
Church garden
Transform this space
I
n a project called Transform Your
Space last summer, the council
invited community groups to
submit ideas to win part of a pot
of money to turn them into reality.
Councillor Bassam Mahfouz,
cabinet member for environment
and transport, said: “We asked
residents for their ideas on how
unloved or underused spaces could
be transformed into places for the
whole community to enjoy, and we
were impressed by the quality of the
submissions. We have chosen very
worthy winners.”
Of the 29 projects submitted, two
were selected as winners. Another
13 of the groups that made
submissions have been encouraged
to develop their plans further and will
be offered feedback and guidance.
The two main winners were
declared as being:
■
St Mellitus Open Space, which will
receive £125,000. The proposal is to
transform the garden of St Mellitus
Church in Hanwell, which occupies
a prominent plot on the corner of
Uxbridge Road and Church Road. It will
tear down the fencing with the aim of
reclaiming the space for the community
as somewhere to relax, meet and
hold local events and, in the process,
eradicate the anti-social behaviour
which has rendered it unusable – as well
as improving safety for pedestrians by
widening and improving paving
■ Woodland Oasis in the Heart of
Industry, which will receive £75,000. The
Island Triangle Residents’ Association
submitted the proposal and the plan is
to transform an unused, overgrown and
fly-tipped strip of land in the centre of
the Park Royal industrial estates into a
woodland garden. It will include a play
area, a community space and various
measures to encourage birds and other
wildlife, and the overall intention is to
create a haven away from the industrial
dirt and noise.
Designs for the two winning entries
have started to be drawn up, with
work on the projects due to start this
December. The aim is to have completed
both schemes in March next year.
Reverend Mark Melluish, of St Mellitus
Church, said: “We would like to make
a safe place for the community, in the
place known as the gateway to Hanwell.
We want to create a space at the heart
of the community that people want to
come in and use for events, too. We
are a small church with a big heart but
we wouldn’t have been able to do this
without Transform Your Space.”
To find out more about the next
round of Transform Your Space visit
www.dosomethinggood.co.uk and keep
an eye on Around Ealing for an update.
around ealing
Summer 2015
37