Students get digging to help improve Greenwich’s parks amid £1 million investment from council

Green-fingered students have been digging deep to help improve Greenwich’s parks.

Last summer, the Royal Borough of Greenwich announced it was investing £1 million on bringing a new lease of life to several of the borough’s parks, following a community consultation.

Eleven sites were chosen and among those were Bostall Gardens and Eaglesfield Park.

Pupils from Alexander McLeod Primary School were joined by Leader of the Council Cllr Danny Thorpe, Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities Cllr Adel Khaireh, local ward councillors and Mayor, Cllr Denise Hyland, to try out the newly marked basketball court in Bostall Gardens.

The pupils also did a great job of planting flowers in the newly-laid flower beds.

Cllr Adel Khaireh, Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities said: “Bostall Gardens in Abbey Wood is a vital space for the community, but over time areas of the park became run down due to everyday wear and tear.

“That’s where the parks investment has stepped in.

“The funding has gone towards re-surfacing the uneven steps, re-building some of the internal walls and installing new entrance signs.

“The money also went towards re-marking the basketball court, which is now vibrant and colourful place to shoot hoops.

“It’s great to see pupils from Alexander McLeod enjoying the new facilities so much.”

The list of parks being invested in and their improvements, are:

• Plumstead Gardens for relandscaping, facility maintenance (e.g. improving paths, railings, walls etc.), security improvements, new park furniture (e.g. benches, rubbish bins, signage etc.) and playground improvements
• Charlton Park for playground improvements, facility maintenance, modernisation of the sports changing rooms, new park furniture and creation of a wildlife meadow (lead by the Friends group)
• Bostall Gardens for facility maintenance, new park furniture and wildflower seed sowing
• Rockliffe Gardens for wildflower sowing, facility maintenance, new park furniture and restoration/creation of a wildlife pond
• Queenscroft Park for some refurbishment to the toilets to allow it to be used by the Friends group, facility maintenance, playground improvements, new park furniture, creation of a wildlife pond, meadow creation and tree planting
• St. Mary’s Gardens for facility maintenance, new park furniture and wildflower sowing
• Sunbury Street for playground refurbishment and new park furniture
• Shrewsbury Park for facility maintenance, meadow creation, new park furniture and tree planting
• Twinkle Park for facility maintenance, new park furniture, meadow creation and shrub replacement and one new tree
• Eaglesfield Park for contribution to playground refurbishment
• Maryon Park for facility maintenance, playground improvements, new park furniture, contribution to ball court improvements, tree planting and wildflower sowing

For more information head to royalgreenwich.gov.uk/parksinvestment