Park users get creative to celebrate community cafe
Published: 12 February 2021
Children in Exeter are being asked to get creative and help decorate safety hoardings going up around a new community café being built in a popular park.
Building work is advancing on the community facility at Heavitree Pleasure Ground.
The initiative is the work of community charity Park Life Heavitree and has been made possible partly thanks to a £70,000 grant from the City Council’s Strategic Fund.
Work is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Once finished it will offer locals a café and community facilities including meeting rooms.
Before then the building has to be completed and fenced off to make it safe. To make the site look more attractive, Exeter Live Better, Live & Move & Liveable Exeter have joined forces with Park Life Heavitree to launch a colouring competition in schools for some designs to go on the hoardings.
Children are being asked to draw a picture of the park, an activity they enjoy in the park or a food they would like to see in the community garden.
The winning entries will feature in the hoardings around the site.
Ben Hunt, Trustee of Park Life Heavitree, said the competition was a great idea to keep the local community involved in the project.
“We're delighted that work has now started,” he said. “It's already generated a lot of interest and there's a real buzz in the park - the work has become a symbol of hope at this difficult time and is the result of ten years of dreaming!
“We're giving local people the chance to get even more involved and to contribute some artwork to the fencing banners that will soon be up. Watch this space too for a monthly timelapse of the building and we look forward to welcoming you for a coffee or ice cream in the summer,” he added.
Cllr Amal Ghusain, Lead Councillor for Communities and Culture, said: “This is a fantastic project. Park Life continues to come up with fresh and innovative ideas to engage and benefit their local community, and we are delighted to be able to support their tireless efforts.
“The colouring competition is a great way to engage the youngsters who for years to come will be the ones who benefit from this wonderful facility.”
Children need to complete their designs on a piece of white A4 paper by Sunday 20 February. Entries must be drawn or written in black pen, using bold, bright colours. The child’s first name and age must be written on the back of the entry.
Entries should be photographed or scanned and sent to hello@parklifeheavitree.org.uk
Some of the entries will be shared on social media. To find out more go to the Park Life Heavitree Facebook page.