Levenshulme group to transform former bowling green into community garden

Chapel Street Park is the oldest park in Levenshulme, and is a green space surrounded by terraced housing and flats, most of which don’t have gardens of their own.

But the local Friends of Chapel Street Park group have grand plans for the former bowling green that’s in desperate need of some restoration.

They aim to transform the space into a sunshine-inspired community garden with areas dedicated to vegetable growing, wildlife and wellbeing.

And, with your help, they could win a £5000 grant to help them make their dreams a reality.

Food company Higgidy is pledging three grants of £5,000 to transform three spaces across the country into veg gardens, and Chapel Street Park has made the shortlist- the only group in the North West to do so.

As well as community growing spaces for vegetables and herbs, there are also plans for an orchard, edible hedgerows, and habitats for wildlife and pondlife.

“The Old Bowling Green in Chapel Street Park has been derelict for several years,” says Lizzie Meade, chair of Friends of Chapel Street Park.

“Local residents have taken it on and are planning to transform it back into a really active community space that will also be a huge benefit to wildlife.

“The COVID lockdowns have made many of us appreciate local green spaces all the more, and this is the perfect opportunity to restore the space and enjoy it for years to come.

“The grant would really help to make these plans a reality.

“We are especially keen to get some kind of shelter so that volunteers can enjoy the space all year round and have a place to socialise, as this is one of the many ways the project can benefit wellbeing, which is something we all need.”

You can vote for Friends of Chapel Street Park here, and the winners will be announced on 25^th January.