The Blakeney Community Green project is working towards a high quality community space for a children's play area, healthy exercise for the aged, walking, mother & child play, informal and formal sport close to the village centre in Blakeney, a village on the A48 main road which links Gloucester and Chepstow in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.
The project will provide high quality, easily accessible open space for all parts of the community. This includes young and old, families with young children and everyone who enjoys active formal or informal sport and other activities such as dog walking and community fun runs and enjoying a refreshing walk by a clear stream. It is associated with an existing community meeting room and a football pitch for the local village team.The main components of the project, on land owned by the Blakeney Community Trust include a children's all weather play area, an informal all-weather multi-sport area, for all ages including netball, 5-a-side football and other small group sports, a BMX area, a car park with 40 spaces, new changing rooms for the football team, a Community Cafe, a walk/run leisure path linking the whole of the area, the banks of the stream and a nature trail in the surrounding woodland.Outline plans for the project also hope to eventually include a self sufficient energy generation system (heat pump & solar power) to heat and light the community meeting rooms, the changing rooms and to supply other village community facilities in the Blakeney such as the health centre, retirement/care home and youth club.
THE SITE
The site approximately 260 metres by 140 metres, with an existing football pitch, is bounded by houses to the south, woodland to the north and west and by pasture and the brook on the east. At present It is best described as very poorly drained rough grass land, which severely restricts all weather use especially in winter. The project includes installing complete ground drainage and all-weather surfaces for the children's play area and informal multi-sports area. The existing small unmarked car park is wet, uneven and insecure.
THE PROJECT HISTORY
The project was originally suggested by Blakeney Drop in and Blakeney Jobs Club, groups of adults and young people who support voluntary work in the community and work to increase employment opportunities for young people in the village. Outline proposals have been discussed at a full community meeting organised by Awre Parish council in November 2010, The meeting included local parish, district and county councillors, representatives of youth groups, community groups, the local health centre and schools and local cooperative projects. Discussion meetings have also been held with local formal and informal youth groups. There has been unanimous support from all age groups and interested organisations.
HIGH QUALITY OPEN SPACE FOR EVERYONE
The Blakeney Community Green provides a group resource suitable for everyone less than 200 metres from the village shop and post office with quick access to all community facilities. It will provide space for everyone to use in all weathers and will promote much more community interaction and with the existing meeting rooms provides a new focus point which will serve young and old with an accessible open space and sport and play resources to benefit everyone in the village.
Blakeney Community Green will be open to all members of the local community in the Awre Parish and surrounding districts. The project is designed to provide attractive open space to young and old, the whole family, mothers and children, teenagers and active adults. It will provide an enjoyable recreational space for the active, the young, the leisure runner and walker as well as the disabled and elderly pet owner. It links up with local footpaths and walking routes which provide access to the Soudley Valley, Blakeney Hill and the attractive woodlands of the Forest of Dean.
