Who are they?
Friends of Victoria Park in Stretford are a registered community group made up of local people who are committed to improving and caring for their park. The group is chaired by Shelly Quinton-Hulme. The group uses the park to promote fun, as well as positive health and wellbeing for their whole community.
What do they do and why?
The group came together in 2002 to try to reverse the decline of Victoria Park since it became largely unsafe for local residents due to anti-social behaviour. Since then, the group has gone to become a registered charity.
After the decline of an older community building, in 2021 the group were able to open a new, state-of-the-art new community building in the park with crowdfunding, some grant funding and support from Trafford Council.
The group run regular community events and activities, including a health and wellbeing programme, using the community build as a hub for their activities.
Over the years, the group has made a range of park improvements and will be continuing this work.
What funding did they receive?
The group received £50,000 as part of Access to Growth to help them start up the social enterprise business elements of their community building - The Tea Room and the Community Room. The Tea Room serves food and drinks 7 days a week for eat-in or take-away, and the community room is a space available for hire to run a range of indoor classes and activities.
What impact has the funding had?
Without the investment from Access to Growth, their opening would be further delayed due to the need for fundraising. The Tea Room and Community Room opened in April 2021 and have been a great success and shown that the services of the group are greatly needed in supporting the local community – especially following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Without the friends group our community would be so much worse off, they have really brought us all together and made this the best park in Trafford”
Find out more about Friends of Victoria Park on their website: www.fovps.org.uk/
This investment was funded by The Growth Fund; a partnership between The National Lottery Community Fund and Big Society Capital, delivered by Access through a range of social investors. It makes up to £50m available to support charities and social enterprises to grow and create social impact in their communities. The Growth Fund uses a combination of grant funding, made possible thanks to National Lottery players, and loan finance from Big Society Capital and other co-investors, to address specific gaps in the social investment market.
