Chapel A Play gathers one last round of funds to revamp Chapel Allerton park’s playground.
Fundraising group Chapel A Play are within arm’s reach of their goal to transform Chapel Allerton park’s playground this year. Made up of Laura Butterworth, Beth Liddle, Laura Barnett and Sarah Holliday, the four local mums first got together in 2020 with the common goal to update the playground for the first time since 2014.
“We want a playground that appeals to all ages”, said Laura Butterworth. “Most families have more than one child, so we want equipment that allows siblings and friends to play together. We also have a varied age range of residents who would also like to use the park more as a central hub to socialise in.”
The group has worked closely with Vicky Nunns of the city councils’ Parks and Countryside department, giving the team advice on new playground designs that cater for children on all ages, with space for other Chapel Allerton residents to socialise: “Vicky has been very supportive, giving us logistical advice behind different playground equipment we can use,” said Laura. “Things got pretty slow for us during the middle of 2021, and I felt we hadn’t made much progress. But she reminded me that we were just at our final hurdle and shouldn’t be disheartened. It fired me up again to not give in and keep going.”
Since launching the project, Chapel A Play has collaborated with local artists and businesses to raise funds for the new playground, and recently received a £5,000 donation from the Wades Charity. The group now hope to apply for the main source of funds by the end of March and have the new playground ready by July.
“Chapel Allerton already has a close community full of generous people willing to help each other out,” said Laura. “We’ve been so pleased at the number of friendly businesses and families who’ve given us their time and donations. Hopefully we can all celebrate this year with a park that the area deserves.”
To find out more and make a donation, visit the ChapelAPlay Facebook page.