Last year over 500 residents benefited from accessing the roundhouse and garden which provides health and wellbeing support to people in Bristol. The charity, Heart of BS13, has been looking to maximise this space to allow the community to access the site all year round and our funding will go towards research, design and the first phase of planning costs.
Kirsty Hammond Climate Action Development Practitioner from Heart of BS13 said: “Some of the Heart of BS13’s most loved community assets are the roundhouse and community gardens. This site has been developed slowly over the years as a space where BS13 residents can explore, become get inspiration by and reconnect with nature.
Whilst the site is beautiful, it is limited to the type and scope of activities that we can offer due to the current layout. We could accommodate more people from the community and run activities to suit all ages and abilities if a landscaping and redesign approach to the grounds was undertaken.”
In 2019 a community consultation was undertaken to consider how the site could better be utilised to allow wider access for residents of BS13. Current plans are to develop the site as a Climate Action Hub, an educational space to explore issues around climate change. This would also include a covered amphitheatre and a field kitchen.
Kirsty added: “The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has shown us how important it is to ensure that people are able to meet, socialise and work outside. The current design limitations of the roundhouse site have been a source of frustration as the space could have been used to support community activities if it was made safe, we are so grateful to receive investment from LiveWest to begin this exciting new redevelopment.”
Colette Tuckey, our Community Connector said: “This LiveWest grant has enabled the Heart of BS13 to adapt and change to the needs of the community and we are really excited to see the plans come to life which will benefit the whole community and make a real difference to people’s lives.”
BS13 residents will be able to volunteer to help with the redevelopment, reducing isolation, building confidence and learning and developing new skills. It is hoped that in the autumn that adult education providers will be able to run workshops around carpentry, willow planting and horticulture using natural and sustainable resources to build the amphitheatre, covered field kitchen and seating area.
Our Grants Manager, Tim Wotton, said: “We are delighted to be able to help create an exciting new space for the community. Heart of BS13 is a great example of how our most recent round of funding has supported youth groups, digital training, community facilities and Covid-19 response organisations, all projects making a difference to LiveWest communities and customers.''
We are committed to investing in our communities and we run several different grants programmes throughout the year and have a small grants programme for up to £1,000 open all year for initiatives involving our customers. We also have an open funding available for community groups and charities for projects that improve our communities, their sense of pride and cohesion and address challenges like holiday hunger.
We have set to allocate over half a million pounds in grants funding to its customers and communities by the end of 2021. As part of the grants drive during the Covid-19 pandemic, since March 2020 we have invested over £300k in crisis and hardship grants for its customers and over £112k in community grants for community spaces and digital inclusion throughout the South West.