Park regeneration: green and pleasant land

Bellingham Green was once a no-go area. It was difficult to see from one side of the park to the other, which made people feel insecure about going there. But now the park in the centre of a 1920s former council estate in south London has won an award after a major refurbishment.

The small park, at a cross roads on the estate, used to be difficult to see across and consequently people did not feel safe in it. A group of local activists alongside Lewisham council decided to improve it in 2003 with money from the neighbourhood renewal fund, which is given to deprived areas, and the government’s Sure Start scheme to provide services for young children. They opened up the park to improve visibility and make people feel safe in it. They spent £650,000 on upgrades to the park. It now has a children’s centre, games area, sensory garden for people with disabilities, picnic areas, a dog walking area and an area for teenagers with a graffiti wall. Local churches, Phoenix Community Housing Association, which manages the estate, and children’s organisations put on events in the park. The services were chosen after a consultation with local residents. The creation of the facilities, especially the Sure Start centre, have helped to encouraged more people to come into the park which in turn has made it feel like a safer place.

“It has encouraged people into the park like young families because it was opened up to ensure it is secure and there is also CCTV,” says Adrian Wickham, general manager of Glendale Managed Services which maintains Lewisham’s parks. “It was a deprived area of city that pulled together to improve their environment and it worked because everyone in that community had opportunity to ask for what they wanted within the park that is what so many different features in that small green space.”

The park won a Green Flag award in July.