The group started in 2011 because Cannock Chase Council wanted to gain a Heritage Lottery bid, which they achieved. The council assisted by The Friends of Hednesford Park successfully obtained a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant of £2.2M as part of the improvements to the park and war memorial.
Partnership Working
Restoration of 13th Century mill – Friends of Broadwaters, Wyre Forest, Worcestershire
Friends of Broadwaters are a group of some 60 members who help manage the park at Broadwaters which covers an area of 2.022 hectares. Located on the outskirts of Kidderminster, it hosts the Broadwaters Annual Fair and Christmas Fair. The Friends group was formed eighteen years ago, following a project instigated by Wyre Forest District Council, and supported by the Local Heritage Initiative.
From an anti-social to a social space – Friends of East Rugby Group, Rugby
Friends of East Rugby Group (FERG) have been going a couple of years. The Friends took on a little local park because it was becoming a very anti-social park, yet it had a nice area for the children to play. There were drug problems on the site and it was becoming generally rundown and neglected, thankfully the Council help the group and support them with their mission to make the park feel welcome and loved again.
Bringing together community groups to work with other stakeholders – Greenhavens Network, Sussex
A collaboration of people who want to protect and improve their local green spaces in Sussex. Working in partnerships and collaboratively, volunteers come together to enhance their parks and open spaces for people and wildlife.
How to set up a Forum and some advice for creating a Friends Group – Sunderland Green and Open Spaces Forum
SGOSF is an umbrella organisation that aims to give a collective voice to volunteers who are working on green and open spaces in the city of Sunderland. This includes parks, allotments, heritage sites, watercourses, community gardens and any other ‘green’ or ‘blue’ spaces.
Community engagement and partnership working – Green Tides (Adur and Worthing Green Spaces Partnership)
1) How and when did you come together and form an area forum? Our forum, the Adur and Worthing Green Spaces Partnership, now known as Green Tides, was initially started and supported by The Conservation Volunteers (TCV). It was started in the summer of 2015 and constituted in August 2017. We work collaboratively, sharing ideas, […]
Providing a hub for groups to come together – Brighton and Hove Green Spaces Forum
1) How and when did you come together and form an area forum? The Forum was established in late 2017 following a number of different ‘green ‘ initiatives (Community University Partnership Project; CityParks’ Rangers campaign and the B&H City in Bloom driven VACOS project). It became apparent that there was lots of good work going […]
Community-led regeneration and co-management of a major urban park – Lordship Rec, Haringey
Lordship Rec is Tottenham’s largest public park. Friends of Lordship Rec (FoLR) were awarded £4 million funding to help transform it into a beautiful space for everyone to use.
Greenspace Partnership Working between Friends Groups and Landowners and Managers
Effective partnerships – between on one hand Friends and community groups and on the other hand site landowners and managers – ensure that both parties understand and try to meet each other’s needs. This is not always easy! It can take several years of working together before a good partnership can be created. But Friends […]
Setting up a Friends’ Forum
Greenspace friends’ and community groups usually find it very useful to be in contact with other similar groups in their area – to share news and experiences, and raise the profile of our activities and common aims. There are many Friends’ Forums for towns and areas all over the country, with more being created all […]