Play area project gets underway

Work has now started on a project to create an exciting and inspiring play area in the garden of Bristol’s popular Trinity Centre on Trinity Road, Old Market.

The project is being led by Trinity Arts Ltd, designed and built by The Green Play Project, and is costing £24,000 in total. The play area will use high quality, sustainable materials and will include environmentally-conscious features which will inspire and challenge children and young people.

It is hoped that, in addition to being used by the many existing users of the centre, the play area will also attract more local families by creating a natural, fun, safe space within an inner-city urban environment, where currently there is nothing similar this side of the M32.

The Trinity Centre offers a range of much-needed services and facilities. The landmark building – a unique grade II* listed converted former-church now provides a space for the whole community, including those who may face barriers to participation such as young people who have been disengaged from mainstream services, refugee communities, Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities and long-term unemployed and financially disadvantaged people.

The play area project will form part of the wider Trinity Development Project funded by the Big Lottery Reaching Communities Buildings Fund, designed to improve and increase the centre’s overall provision to the community.

Funding for the project has come from The Veolia Environmental Trust who awarded a grant of £23,000 through the Landfill Communities Fund.

Centre Manager, Emma Harvey, says, “We are delighted that work is underway. The centre’s garden is a rare greenspace in an inner-city locality and the addition of a play area will encourage wider use by the community.”

The acting executive director of The Veolia Environmental Trust, Maria Cade, adds, “We support community projects up and down the country and it is always great to hear about one starting. I hope that the play area is enjoyed by the community of Bristol for many years to come and I look forward to seeing the completed results.”

The project has also been supported by a £2,000 Community First grant awarded by the Easton and Lawrence Hill Neighbourhood Management Team.

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Landfill Tax and the Landfill Communities Fund Any rubbish that is thrown away and cannot be reused ends up in a landfill site. Operators of landfill sites collect tax on each tonne of landfill for HM Treasury. The purpose of this tax is to make it more expensive to put waste into landfill, in turn encouraging us to reduce our waste and recycle more.

A small proportion of this tax, currently 6.8%, can be used to support a wide range of environmental projects near landfill sites, through the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF). Through the LCF over £1 billion has been invested in UK projects. The Veolia Environmental Trust is part of the LCF, which is regulated on behalf of HM Government’s Revenue & Customs by ENTRUST. For further information, please visit www.entrust.org.uk.

The Veolia Environmental Trust has been supporting community and environmental projects for over 15 years. Since we were established in 1997, Veolia Environmental Services (UK) plc has supported us by contributions of over £51 million to 1531 projects.

We have helped fund a diverse range of projects, including the repair of woodland footpaths, the renovation of community halls and the installation of playgrounds and play areas. For more information, or to find out how to apply for funding, visit our website www.veoliatrust.org.

Press information issued by Rebecca Jacob, tel: 01902 794978, email: rebecca.jacob@veoliatrust.org (project number: 4000)