• Durham
• Northumberland
• Tyne and Wear

Chester West and Central Community Project, Chester le Street

Awarded £9,324

The project aims to renovate a disused plot on an allotment site to create a community garden. The garden will be managed according to organic principals and will provide a site for training in sustainable food production and for promotion of biodiversity, in a disadvantage urban area. It would also promote interaction between different social groups within the area. The aim is to create a learning environment whereby individuals and local groups can aspire to organic management techniques which may be taken on to other local sites.

Denes Community Action Group, Darlington

Awarded £8,541

The project aims to convert an underused recreational area into a recognised nature reserve, through community action. The project is based on the increase of Biodiversity of the site by improving existing habitat and creating new wildlife areas. The site will have open access and the project development will involve many sectors of the local community. Volunteers will have the opportunity to assist with practical projects and receive training in a wide range of countryside management skills. Projects will include pond creation and management, footpath construction, water level control, dry stone walling and tree planting.

Descend M2W, Hamsterley

Awarded £9,999

This project is about the development of a multi use cycle facility that will include courses and trails for riders of all ages and capabilities - to cater for the many disciplines at all levels including coaching, training, leisure riding and events. Due to the lack of such facilities, riders often use land that is not suitable for bikes - bridalways, public paths, wildlife trails and private land, this not only puts public users such as walkers and horse riders at risk, but has a negative effect on the environment and wildlife. The groups aim is to greatly reduce this risk by providing defined trails.

Darlingtons Firthmoor Community Group

Awarded £7,095

This project is focussed on providing a safe and attractive amenity within a local nature reserve. The improvement of the site will include the creation of wetland areas, a network of hard surfaced paths, treeplanting and the provision of seating. The project will provide a focal point for people of all ages. The People's Places panel awarded the group in September 2002.

Friends of Killhope, Cowshill

Awarded £9,861

The woods around Killhope museum are home to the last remaining unmixed colony of red squirrels in County Durham and people love to see them. The project will set up a fully accessible observation hide and feeding station for the squirrels. The hide will feature interesting information for the public about red squirrels and their habitat. The second part of the project will create a pond-dipping platform at an old mine reservoir with interpretation about pond ecology which will be used by local schools and youth groups.

Lakes Primary School

Awarded £9,642

The overall objective for Lakes Primary School, based in Redcar, is to increase the community's use of the school grounds through working in partnership with local community groups. The People's Places Award will be the second phase which will provide opportunities for developing environmental awareness, particularly through participating in the development and management of diverse habitats and other environmental features.

Leadgate Community Tearooms Association

Awarded £9,956

The money is to be used to develop an under used piece of land to create a garden for the benefit of the community, and to encourage wildlife in to the area. The garden is to include seating areas, a children's play area and the planting of a wildflower meadow so people of all ages can relax and learn about wildlife in a safe environment.

Leadgate Community Tearooms 2

Awarded £9,999

The group would like to develop an underused piece of land to create a garden for the benefit of the whole community and to encourage wildlife. It will involve the planting of a wildflower meadow with seating area so that people of all ages and abilities can relax and learn about the wildlife around them in a safe environment. This is an application for a second award. The first project cleared the area and turned it into a community garden. Now the group want to provide an area with a wildlife focus which will be more stimulating and educational. This area is adjacent to the first and will become part of the 'Gateway to Leadgate' which is trying to encourage tourism in the area.

Margrove Park Village Association, based near Middlesborough

Awarded £8,535

Will use their award for their project to develop a village green to a safe and secure environment for children and local residents. Trees will be planted and a path created through the existing woodland area. The nearby community centre will have improved access as a result.

The Residents Association of Cornsay Colliery and Neighbourhood Watch

Awarded £7,503

The award is enabling the residents to transform disused land in to a wildlife garden, and to encourage the community to walk and socialise together more frequently. New habitats are going to be created, and mixed with existing native species which will complement the seating areas and improve biodiversity in the area. Dropped kerbs and a tap rail will make access for those in wheelchairs or with a visual impairment easier to ensure it is an area all the community can use.

St Pauls Church P.C.C., Ramshaw

Awarded £5,138

Lying in the centre of the village of Ramshaw is a portion of village green that is surrounded by a broken and vandalised concrete fence. Behind this green lies the church and beside that there is a damaged and vandalised large building. In order to improve the environment the group aim to replace the fence, maintain the green and tidy up the churchyard. The group, with the aid of school children, will plant flowers, bushes etc. to make the area more pleasing for everyone. This will vastly improve the focal point of a village that at present has an air of general neglect, buildings are dilapidated or boarded up, side streets have huge pot holes and the results of vandalism are prominent.

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The Belford Middle School Trust

Awarded £7,028

This will enable them to open up the grounds of the school to the community creating a new recreational space, wildlife corridor and to have space available for performing arts. On top of this, the trust are also installing easy access for the disabled and elderly so everyone can take advantage of this Northumberland facility. The award was issued in April 2002.

The Fawside Foundation in Allendale near Hexham

Awarded £9,821

Plan to improve a derelict area of river corridor between the settlements of Allendale and Catton. This will involve habitat creation, improvement and restoration, protection of endangered species and developing public amenity access. The scheme was awarded in September 2001.

Fawside 2, Allendale

Awarded £9,438

The group wish to provide an outdoor classroom for use by schools and other community groups. Volunteers from all areas of the community will be heavily involved in its creation. They will not only be instructed in the practical tasks, but also be informed as to why one plant is of greater benefit to the site than another.

Friends of Ulgham Meadows in Morpeth

Awarded £7161

Planning to improve access to Ulgham Meadows and Ulgham Wood, a location which provides habitats for otters, badgers, red squirrels and kingfishers. The paths around the wood have been allowed to fall into disrepair and are now impassable.The project will provide an educational and recreational resource for the local community. Awarded by the People’s Places Award Scheme in November 2001.

Prudhole Gardeners Association

Awarded £3630

Converting an existing allotment site in to an allotment garden which is suitable for all members of the community with an interest in gardening; including young people, the elderly and the disabled. The garden will improve links between all the age groups and increase community links as well as improving individuals knowledge of gardening skills, especially those who are more disadvantaged who otherwise would not have the opportunity to participate. Their People's Places award was allocated in April 2002.

Northumberland's Union Enterprise Trust

Awarded £9982

Awarded in May 2002 to provide a more accessible area for the local community, and to provide new facilities for the local first school including a natural amphitheatre outdoor classroom. The Trust aim to improve the appearance of the area by planting trees which will turn the underused area in to a popular community base. In time it is hoped that the area will be come a designated nature reserve.

The Whistlestop Project in Haltwhistle

Awarded £9994

This will go towards their 'Bike & Burn' project. A new Mountain Bike/BMX track is being built on reclaimed land which is to enhance an underdeveloped natural resource in the area and providing much needed recreation space for young people. The scheme will improve access and give visual improvements to the local area and encourage young people to be involved in the development of a new facility which will increase their confidence in a non academic environment.

Widdrington Station & Stobswood Parish Forum, Morpeth

Awarded £8745

To regenerate an area of publicly accessible wasteland, owned by the parish, into an attractive nature space. This pocket haven, informal outdoor classroom and potential amphitheatre facility will benefit the whole community as it is in the heart of the village and a natural route from one end of the village to the other.

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Bentinck Tenants and Residents Association, Newcastle

Awarded £9,568

The residents who live in this area have no communal green space to access for community events. This group would like to develop the front and back gardens of a community house for the benefit of all. By improving and securing the site they aim to increase access for groups that are currently restricted to internal areas only.

Cedarwood Trust, North Shields

Awarded £7,905

Cedarwood has a back garden that at present is overgrown and full of weeds and rubble. The group wish to turn this site into a safe and pleasant environment for all the centre users. They will install a soft play area for the younger children, benches, a grass area, raised flowerbeds, a bird table and a graffiti wall. When complete the garden will cater for all ages of the community and will attract a wide array of wildlife.

Community Regeneration Trust North East, South Shields

Awarded £9,999

This award will help the group to develop their allotment into an environmentally sustainable project producing fresh fruit and vegetables grown by members of the community for the community. Volunteers will: learn & implement environmentally friendly horticultural practices; lay paths; develop plots; plant hedging; develop a watercourse & water recycling; and create a therapeutic aesthetic garden experience. Environmentally sound working practices will encourage wildlife, conserve natural resources, and produce an ecologically sustainable horticultural project for the benefit of volunteers, people with learning difficulties, asylum seekers and the community who consume the fresh produce.

Downhill Infant and Nursery School

Awarded £9,796

Aims to improve the quality of the school grounds for the benefit of the whole community. The project, based in South Shields, will include a herb and vegetable garden, a sensory garden, a wildflower garden and a bog garden. These projects will involve the children in learning about sustainable gardening techniques and will also encourage the local community to share their expertise and teach others to use these simple techniques in their own gardens. The school received the award in September 2002.

Farringdon Jubilee Centre

Awarded £9,095

The community centre has a grassed area to the front that is untidy and currently never used. The group want to develop the land to give people a nice area to sit and enjoy, along with the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge about the environment and gardening. They have planned different areas with flowerbeds, a vegetable patch, and a possible sensory garden. The site will have full disabled access with raised beds so people in wheelchairs can be involved in the planting.

Friends Of Chopwell Wood, Rowlands Gill

Awarded £9,997

This project is a long-term vision to involve the local communities of Chopwell, High Spen and Highfield in the conversion and management of an area of underused, unimproved grassland (0.5 ha), to a unique facility that contains a mosaic of different habitats, such as a wildflower meadow and wetland area. The site will also demonstrate a number of different conservation features; for example, drystone walling, a sensory plant bed and a small tree nursery growing trees from locally collected seed. This area will be maintained by the local 'Friends' volunteer group that is developed via the project.

Interface Project, Gateshead

Awarded £8,212

This project is about developing a community allotment in the lower area of Felling, Gateshead. The community will benefit from access to an upgraded and pleasant public community garden on previously untended and neglected land. Volunteers will work together in an effort to break down pre-conceived ideas and it is hoped that the project will help to bridge social and cultural divides.

Newcastle Society for Blind People

Awarded £9908

They wanted to prove that although visually impaired, their members can still research and develop ideas to create a community sensory garden for both themselves and the general public to enjoy. They plan to refurbish Exhibition Park to provide the opportunity for visually impaired people to research, plan, build and be involved in the future maintenance of this natural and open-air facility. With its close proximity to Newcastle's busy city centre, their park is ideally placed to provide opportunities for relaxation and encourage biodiversity. The group was awarded in January 2002.

Pelaw Youth Centre, Gateshead

Awarded £9,748

This project is about promoting and overcoming physical, practical and social barriers within the community by facilitating self development through the focal point of an open green space which will be developed by the wide range of local groups who use the Youth Centre. The group will improve access, set in seating, create planting beds, attract wildlife and promote healthy living through a sequence of community volunteer events enabling establishment and future sustainable co-operative management of the site.

Pemberton Bowling Club, Sunderland

Awarded £5,309

The Pemberton Bowling Club wish to improve access to bowling and associated facilities for residents of Sunderland – particularly those with mobility problems or dependant care responsibilities. The project is located in a public area of Barnes Park. The improvement to facilities will greatly benefit disabled people visiting the adjacent park. The project will replace a hazardous surface with new paving, install a wheelchair ramp and safety rail to a new building with disabled toilets, and provide outdoor shade with flowering shrubs.

Pendower Good Neighbour Project, Newcastle

Awarded £9,854

This group supports individuals, families and community groups on a disadvantaged estate. The group are moving to 2 converted semidetached houses with large abandoned gardens which they plan to develop as a community garden with a fruit growing area; herb and vegetable plots; shrubs and mixed planting; grassed areas with seating and a patio with BBQ area. The volunteers will be involved in developing the plan, preparing the ground, planting, watering, weeding, harvesting and organising community events in the garden.

The Scotswood Natural Community Garden group in Newcastle Upon Tyne

Awarded£9939

Plans to make developments to the existing Rainbow Garden. It was awarded a People’s Places Award in November 2001. The group will improve the network of paths and supporting walls in the garden so that the resource is made accessible to all, regardless of mobility. This will also enable wheelchair users to attend the regular festivals and open days that take place at the garden. The centrepiece of the project will be the construction of a unique pergola around the entrance to the gardens. This will be covered with fragrant climbing plants and provide a highly attractive focal point.

Sunderland Training & Education Farm Ltd

Awarded £8,979

This project will bring the people of Sunderland together in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere to help and educate them through their leisure time activities. It aims to empower people, enabling them to improve their outlook, their health and their access to training and employment opportunities. Objectives include providing a wide range of facilities and activities for children and young people, developing a wide range of education and training provision, providing development & support for citizens to plan & organise community events, and developing a programme of workshops for leisure time interests.

Usworth Colliery Wildlife Garden, Washington

Awarded £9,921

There are few places for local groups in the community to explore nature in a safe and secure environment. The wish is to regenerate an area of unused school ground to enhance children's environmental learning outside of the curriculum and involve the wider community in environmental issues. The group aim to forge community links and promote racial harmony and cultural awareness in an area of significant deprivation. The garden will provide a place of tranquility and learning, comprised of a thread of wheelchair accessible footpaths, raised beds, sculpture/artwork, varied native habitats, and education zones.

Walsh Avenue Tenants Assoc, Hebburn

Awarded £9069

The group aim to transform a derelict piece of land on the estate into an organic community garden. This will mean including all the residents on the estate in the planning, design and maintaining of the area. Special considerations will be given for wheelchair access, the very young, and families. Although all ages will be represented, we want to especially involve the 9-13 year old children. There is very little for them to get involved in on the estate, and we know that they will want to do this as the idea of a wildlife garden initially came from them. We will encourage them to use the skills they will learn to help develop some of their own and other residents gardens as havens for wildlife.