The new £220,000 playground will be completed in Lowndes Park by March 2025!

Love Lowndes, a project set up by Friends of Lowndes Park in partnership with Chesham Town Council (CTC), is delighted to announce that a new playground in Lowndes Park, Chesham will open in March 2025.

After two years of fundraising, Love Lowndes have raised over £220,000 to build a brand new 5-11 years playground in Lowndes Park. The minimum fundraising target was £150,000, so the final total means that the group have been able to invest in a diverse range of exciting play equipment to suit children of all ages and abilities.

A formal tender process was conducted by Chesham Town Council during autumn 2024 to appoint a contractor to build the playground, and in consultation with Love Lowndes, a contractor was selected and a playground design approved in December 2024. The new playground will be positioned adjacent to the existing playground (which is aimed at younger children) and the build is set to begin on 20th January 2025.

The final design for the new playground has been inspired by the unique history and geography of Chesham, and the equipment has been carefully selected to be fun, sustainable, inclusive and safe.

How did they do it?

Of the total funds raised, CTC contributed £35,500 towards the playground, and the remaining money was found through a wide range of local fundraising activities within the community, successful grant applications and corporate sponsorship. A special thanks to the following organisations and businesses for their donations:

• The Veolia Environmental Trust
• Buckinghamshire Council Community Board
• Rothschild Foundation
• The National Lottery Community Fund
• The Douglas McMinn Centre Charity

Love Lowndes Corporate Sponsors:

• Platinum: Silverson, The Entertainer and Mencap
• Gold: Chesham Prep School
• Silver: Perspective (Home Counties) Ltd. and Ash Wills

A full list of all organisations and businesses who contributed towards the new playground will be published on the Friends of Lowndes Park website after the playground has opened to the public.

Speaking about the project, Claire Wyatt, Chair of Love Lowndes commented:

“I am so incredibly proud of the amazing team of volunteers that have worked tirelessly over the last two years to make our dream of a new playground for the children of Chesham come true.

It’s been an incredible journey that has involved the whole community. From comedy nights at The Elgiva, our lovely Pumpkin Parade in Lowndes Park and local groups like the Squirrel Scouts and Brownies doing sponsored activities in the community, to the all-schools mufti day and our buy a brick in the park pathway campaign; the whole community has come out to support Love Lowndes.

All the support, donations from local people and our business sponsors, was a key part of our successful grant applications. We needed to prove that the people of Chesham were behind us, and we’ve been overwhelmed by the love and support we’ve received.

The best news is that we smashed our minimum target of £150k! I always said we needed more money in order to deliver the kind of park our kids deserve. I hope you’ll all be as thrilled as I am with the design. We’ve worked hard to reflect all the consultation we’ve done and make sure it’s challenging, inclusive and so much fun.

Thank you to everyone who has donated, helped, spread the word, attended an event or supported us in any way. We did it!”

Louise Hayday, CEO of Chesham Town Council, went on to say:

“Chesham Town Council is delighted to announce the imminent start of the playground build in Lowndes Park. This exciting addition to our community space is designed to provide a safe, fun, and engaging environment for children aged between 5 and 11.

The new playground features a variety of modern play equipment, including swings, slides, climbing structures, and interactive play panels. It has been thoughtfully designed to cater to the diverse needs of our community, ensuring accessibility and enjoyment for all.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Love Lowndes for their unwavering support and dedication in fundraising for this project. Their commitment and hard work have been instrumental in bringing this vision to life. The collaboration between Chesham Town Council and Love Lowndes exemplifies the power of community spirit and partnership.”

Further information about the opening of the new playground will be announced in March 2025, and the Love Lowndes group will also soon announce plans for a new fundraising campaign to raise the funds for a new playground in Lowndes Park for the children under the age of 5. The group is always happy to hear from new volunteers who would like to be involved with the campaign.

Contact lovelowndes@gmail.com

Further Information

Love Lowndes is a community group of volunteers fundraising to create a destination playground in Lowndes Park, Chesham. Their fundraising target for the new 5-11 years playground was £150k+.

Love Lowndes is a Friends of Lowndes Park project in partnership with Chesham Town Council.

Contact details:

Lovelowndes@gmail.com

Love Lowndes Crowdfunder page: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/love-lowndes

Love Lowndes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lovelowndes

Love Lowndes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovelowndes/