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Police Authority grant funds Rotherham Recreation
A Rotherham community is set to benefit from a £2,000 grant to provide football and netball tournaments this summer.
The money was given to the Friends of Barkers Park voluntary group by South Yorkshire Police Authority's A Better Community (ABC) Awards.
Community leaders determined to rejuvenate Rotherham’s Barkers Park, will use the funds to purchase games equipment and organise tournaments with the aim of building community spirit.
Peter Mycroft, Secretary of Friends of Barkers Park , said: Barkers Park is a large recreation park, with a lot of potential to become the social hub of the community.
The park, situated in the Kimberworth Park district of Rotherham, has become run down over recent years and apart from a functioning bowling club and council maintained football pitches, has little to offer the immediate community.
Peter said: Teenage groups in particular complain that they do not have leisure facilities and subsequently roam the streets becoming a local nuisance. They get told not to do this and not to do that and our belief is that they feel socially alienated if we don’t offer them somewhere to go.
The Friends of Barkers Park strategy is to bring this valuable recreation ground back into full use for families in Kimberworth Park. The ABC Award offers us the chance to really get things off the ground by encouraging all age groups to participate in a summer series of football and netball tournaments.
We have the money to buy the equipment and to pay for the services of referees etc and hopefully, we can generate the levels of involvement that will keep things going for the future.
The group are hoping to go on to more ambitious projects once they have established local participation in activities at the recreation ground, including a new pavilion to replace a dilapidated one which was burnt down by vandals some years ago.
A new pavilion would contain showers for sports groups and a function room for social events like whist-drives, bring and buy sales and could also be used by the bowling club.
The park now has a multi-use-games area which younger children currently use and they will be encouraged to develop a sense of ownership towards the park, making vandalism less likely.
Other future initiatives to revitalise the park include a proposed rose garden with seating for people to relax out of doors.
Peter said:Our hope is that people will realize that this effort has been made on their behalf and that they will, in turn, appreciate it. I am a great believer in giving people a chance and encouraging team spirit.
Dr Choudry Walayat, Chair of the Community Affairs Committee at the South Yorkshire Police Authority, added: Finding ways to engage with young people is an important part of establishing social cohesion. The 'Friends of Barkers Park' have made great steps towards providing the young people of the Kimberworth Park area with activities that they can enjoy and which will bring them into the wider community.
In their annual handout, the Authority will pledge more than £140,200 to 104 projects and groups as part of their A Better Community (ABC) Awards, with Rotherham receiving £24,845, benefiting 15 projects.
For more information on this year’s ABC Awards please contact Anita Gelder, tel 01226 772809 Email A Gelder
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