The Big Park Project is a project to completely renovate the playground in the Recreation Ground. Some items of the equipment have been there for over three decades and there has others were vandalised, meaning there are few play opportunities for children. The Big Park Project hopes to change this. It will take a play area that is boggy, sparse and inaccessible, and turn it into an exciting and imaginative space.
The new equipment will cater to around 140 children and will have surfacing under all of the equipment, meaning it can be used all year round. Currently, as soon as there are a few consecutive days of rain, the grass gets churned up and then for most of the winter, the playground gets very little use. This minimises the chance for children to get some physical play or meet new friends and it also means the parents lose out on these opportunities too.
The project needs to raise £150k and an independent fundraising group has formed to help the Parish Council meet the goal. They are organising a gin, wine & street food event at West Street Vineyard on Friday 6 March to help. Starting at 7pm, there will be complimentary cocktails on arrival, followed by bowl food at 8pm and a DJ and cash bar for the whole night. To raise additional funds, there will be a raffle with a range of amazing prizes.
Tickets cost £25 each (or £40 should you choose to include an additional donation of £15 for the Project). You can buy tickets at Eventbrite but they will also be on sale in the village at West Street Vineyard, The Chapel Inn, Heritage Estate Agents, Coggeshall Barbers and 37 Kings Acre.
To find out more about the Big Park Project or the event, visit the Fundraising Group’s website: https://coggeshallbigpark.fund/.