Projects

Fairhaven Park

Completed: 2024
Location: Skelmersdale, Lancashire
Region: North West
Other local partners: Tawd Valley Development, Whitfield & Brown, John McCall Architects, West Lancashire Borough Council (UKSPF), Dulux

About the project

This was our first partnership with TAWD Valley Developments (TVD), the wholly owned development company of West Lancashire Borough Council, Whitfield and Brown and John McCall Architects to deliver major uplift to Fairhaven Park in Skelmersdale, to make this a safer space for local residents and families to enjoy.

The project:

Taking place adjacent to a new housing development by TAWD Valley and Whitfield & Brown, this project has seen improvements to the public space including refurbishing the underpass with lighting and a vibrant mural by local artist Gary Pate, new furniture and improvements to the play park, new trees planting and a much brighter environment.

The impact:

  • 25 young people, all from the local West Lancashire College, all gaining an Entry Level City & Guilds in Health & Safety
  • Hear what this experience meant to VIY learners, Marcus and Lennon
  • 19 adults volunteering from the local community and partners involved with the project
  • 600 volunteer hours given to the project from these young people & the local community
  • 7 gabion style benches created around the site – designed to deter anti-social behaviour/theft
  • Around 10 small holes filled with soil around the site which posed a H&S risk to young people using the park
  • 2 underpasses decorated with a bold and lively mural to create a welcoming walkway
  • 1 upcycled / refurbished shelter
  • 8 bird / hedgehog boxes created for the site
  • Around 100 meters worth of pathway trimmed back, making pathways up to 2m wider in some places and safer for pedestrians and cyclists
  • All soil from the clearance reused across the site
  • Employability sessions delivered to the young people by Whitfield & Brown and Ridge
  • Project nominated in the ‘Best Partnership’ category at the Inside Housing Development Awards

VIY are also working on two community projects with West Lancashire Borough Council funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund – the first completed in April helping to redecorate Bickerstaffe FC, which hadn’t been freshened up in over 20 years. The second has seen us build a community garden at Liverpool Road Hall Community Centre to serve local people and will redecorate their centre, all whilst providing valuable work experience to young people to learn hands-on construction skills.

We are delighted to be driving this initiative forward alongside the Council, VIY, our housebuilding team and of course local volunteers. Wherever we can we seek to add some value to the community in which we build and from the outset of our housebuilding we saw Fairhaven Park as a great opportunity to do just that. This is a great opportunity to do a team build with many businesses playing their part and for the community to get directly involved. Mark Kitts, Managing Director, TVD