Colden Common Parish Council Village Regenerationj Project

To fully restore a former landfill site for the benefit of community use.

To maximise the benefits to the community on the site restricted by its former use.

To create a green space of education, recreational and conservation value.

To promote safe access for all members of the community, but especially for the local youth.

History of the Project

As long ago as 1994 the Parish Council was seeking an appropriate site for the provision of an informal kick-about area for our youngsters. At last this wish is now coming to fruition, along with more adventurous ideas for the community in general.

The Green, adjacent to the Community Centre is part of the 'open space' handed over to the Parish Council by developers. Sadly it was the object of many time-consuming legal wrangles , but the Parish Council finally took over ownership in April 2000.

Around the same time as the Green was being fought for by the Parish Council, Hampshire County Council gave Colden Common Primary School extra land in the form of a wide strip adjacent to St. Vigor Way. This area was not needed for school buildings and was laid out as an 'environmental area' with trees, plants and a pond. Unfortunately in 1996 the school suffered the trauma of a fire, which demolished the buildings. Temporary classrooms were moved onto the site whilst the school was completely rebuilt. Obviously all spare time, energy and finances were channeled into the new building and the grounds became somewhat neglected.

These two sites are in the centre of our community and are only separated by St. Vigor Way (named after our twin village in France). These two have now come together to develop their areas under one banner:

How it happened

Over several years it had become apparent that the needs of our youth needed to be addressed. From statistics obtained from a Parish Appraisal carried out in the year 2000, 21% of our community, which has a population of around 3,700 is aged between 0-17 years. Whilst we have all the usual uniformed organisations and formal football and cricket clubs, facilities were lacking for informal areas for the teenagers. In 1997 the Parish Council set up a Youth Spaces Working Party. The first project of the Working Party was to investigate all possible sites for a hard surfaced area incorporating a wall and basket ball posts for use by individual young people or by groups.

Individuals, organisations and groups within the village were invited to be on this working party and put forward their ideas with regard to developing The Green.

The first meeting was held in July 1998 and was attended by several Parish Councillors together with representatives from Rainbow Playgroup, Colden Common Playgroup, Youth Football Clubs, Boys Brigade, Scout Movement, users of the Detached Youth Work Project and members of the Youth Parish Council.

Interesting suggestions were put forward and discussed. Further meetings were held during the following months. Several teenagers became involved who were particularly interested in having a skatepark area. Unfortunately the legal negotiations for the hand over of the site continued to drag on and became very frustrating.

After much discussion between members of this working party, and the groups and individuals represented, a list of priorities was drawn up. It soon became apparent that to carry out all of these, substantial funds would need to be found and several possible sources were explored, with a mix of results.

Back to the top

Plans for The Green
Kick about area	A tarmaced area where young people could meet and socialise. This area to be drained, have some lighting, seating and be fenced. The area to be marked out for football/netball/basketball/cricket. There needed to be a wall for kicking balls against. COMPLETED
Skate Park	An area with a mixture of ramps and jumps. For safety, these needed to be separate from the kick-about area. This equipment would be suitable for skates, blades or BMX bikes. COMPLETED
Seating and shelters	A safe place for young people to meet, sit and talk. A roof to protect from the elements, but open to allow good visibility for safety of users. Being part of the kick about and skate park would encourage a physical outlet for energy and emotions. COMPLETED
Toddler Play area	An area near the footpath to the Chapel where Mother and Toddler Group meet twice weekly and a Playgroup is run on a daily basis. To comply with health and safety requirements this needs to be fenced, with two gates. One or two bench seats. Litter bin. Safety surfacing under equipment as appropriate.
Track	A multi use track around the perimeter of the field.
Flower beds	Raised beds with flowers/shrubs and seating with easy access. COMPLETED
Environmental	Enhance the planting already in existence at the east end of the site to encourage birds, wildlife generally and continue to form a barrier to the houses in Hill Lane. Local community involvement in the planting of the area. COMPLETED

Plans for the Primary School Grounds
Amphitheater	Terraced two or three steps with stepped access and a gravel or tarmac stage. This would be used by the children, and would also be offered to the local Drama and Singing Groups for outdoor productions as well as the other groups as Brownies, Scouts, etc. COMPLETED
Rural Craft area	for sculpture in wood, wicker and stone set on stone paving. COMPLETED
A lavender or box maze	in an area with raised flower beds.
A seating area	as a quiet area with shade with pergola and shading close to the school buildings - an outside classroom.
A variety of habitats	for small mammals and insects
A seating area	with improved decking around the pond
Bird watching area	with bird table and screened watching area
Senses garden	with an arched entrance around a hedged secret garden
Infrastructure	tarmacing and enlarged paths, using gravel and paving stones. Improved fencing and boundaries to interest areas, new gates and a new shed for storage.
Sundial and weather stations

You are in: Home > Parish Council > Village Regeneration Project