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PLAYGROUND
Picnic, Play and Grow in Reach The Plan: The area left after clearing the old playground was ripe for development and after receiving plenty of suggestions from residents, the final plans are now in place. The area will be framed by a raised bed, maintaining the original restricted access to the playing fields. It will be sensitively planted to encourage native wildlife and include a shared herb garden for use by villagers, as well as providing a beautiful backdrop to the seating and games area. We plan to install three picnic benches, one with wheelchair access, for use by visitors to the garden and adjoining playground and recreation area. By popular demand, we also hope to install an outdoor table tennis table. Seating to watch the games will be incorporated in the design of the raised bed. All of the equipment has been chosen for longevity (recycled plastic benches, for example) and we hope the area will be used for many years.
Construction will be by a fantastic local charity The Prospects Trust, located at Snakehall Farm on the edge of the village. They provide real work experience and training to people with learning or physical disabilities. They have been involved in the design of the area and we look forward to working with their team and strengthening the links between this charity and our village.
We have been very fortunate to have received £10,000 towards this project through the National Lottery Community Fund, so thank you to National Lottery players for making our project possible!
We are also in the customer vote for a Bags of Help grant from Tesco. It’s a scheme which gives community projects like us grants of up to £4,000 – all raised from the sale of carrier bags in Tesco stores. The public will now vote in store during January and February 2019 on who should receive the awards. Please support us by voting with your blue tokens in the Tesco Newmarket store! The remainder of our funding will come from the Reach Village Grant Fund, so a huge thank you to everyone who helps with Reach Fair and the other fundraising efforts in the village.
Green fingered? The Prospect’s Trust gardening team have a wealth of knowledge but we’d welcome villager input on the planting you’d like to see, so please do get in contact if you’re interested in being involved. Alex de Giorgio-Miller, Play Spaces Officer, Reach Parish Council |