Wirral-based social enterprise HYPE Merseyside has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £45,000 to turn a neglected green space on Coastal Drive in New Brighton into a leisure park for the whole community to use.
The project aims to transform the six-acre site, which has been left unused for seven years, into a place where people will be able to access bikes and cycling activities, participate in sport, get involved in community projects and learn about local wildlife and plants.
Year-round activities proposed for HYPE Merseyside’s Wirral Coastal Leisure Park will include bike hire, repairs and learn-to-ride sessions, footgolf and a chip and putt course. Its health and wellbeing offer will cater to people of all ages and abilities and include running, walking, and cycling clubs and cross-country, yoga, and outdoor gym sessions.
The park will also integrate a nature reserve, wildlife observation hides, and community tree planting to support local biodiversity, alongside educational workshops on conservation and sustainability and opportunities to actively contribute to its upkeep through volunteering.
HYPE Merseyside is aiming to raise £45,469 by Monday 3rd February 2025, with the aim of opening Wirral Coastal Leisure Park in Summer 2025. Activities at the site, such as training for young cyclists, mechanics, green space managers and community leaders, will also aim to create pathways for skill-building and potential employment, through the opportunities offered.
The project is intended to create a lasting legacy, with the park developing year on year to meet the needs of the community, while also preserving the space for future generations.
HYPE Merseyside has extensive experience in bringing neglected and underused green spaces back to life and public use, with other projects under its “Vibrant Parks” initiative including Birkenhead Park in 2016 and Central Park in Liscard in 2021.
Matthew Houghton from HYPE Merseyside said:
“We have long been committed to finding neglected, empty spaces in our region, transforming them into vibrant, accessible and dynamic places and reclaiming them for public use.
“We aim to maximise the use of these spaces and ensure that the local community reaps the benefits, particularly young people and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“The site at New Brighton holds immense potential, not only for a host of fun activities that will get people outdoors and active, but for social cohesion too, bringing people together through regular events, cycle rides, group activities and youth clubs.
“We have a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, as well as a supportive network of experts ready to make this project happen in the new year. All we need now are the funds to help us to make our vision for Wirral Coastal Leisure Park – a resource for our community – a reality.
“Even the smallest donation will help us move towards our goal, so we are calling out to organisations, businesses, funders and individuals to give what they can. In return we promise that we will deliver a vital and transformative space that they, and others in their communities, will benefit from for many years.”
As part of its crowdfunding pledge, HYPE Merseyside has also promised to plant 1,000 trees, provide 100 families with bikes for summer seaside rides, enable 100 children to learn to cycle in the space and to work with 12 primary schools on educational and social activities in the space, all in 2025.
The crowdfunder will run until Monday 3rd February 2024. To find out more about the project or to donate, visit the website.
READ MORE: SUE JOHNSTON JOINS FAMILIES TO SUPPORT CLAIRE HOUSE CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGN
