As Christmas approaches the villagers of Redlingfield have a trio of heroes to congratulate for doing a fantastic job of fundraising.
In the last magazine you may have read that six-year-old Phoebe Smith and her elderly pony Lady, along with her big brother, nine-year-old Tom, would be riding and cycling 36 kilometres around Bedingfield to raise funds to help create a safe place for visitors to park at our church.
Currently parking is on a fast country road and simply too dangerous for everyone. The new parking area on the Doorstep Green will be eco-friendly under-grass mesh, which is virtually invisible once the grass has grown through it.
They were hoping to raise £1,000. Well, they have done a lot better than that! Including gift aid they have raised well over £5,500, which is absolutely brilliant.
The pair spent several weekends riding and cycling around Bedingfield. The weather was challenging at times and it got a little bit muddy. They had to do their fundraising over several weekends as Lady is 23 and needs to take life a little easy.
So congratulations and thank you to the Smiths and Lady as well as everyone who donated money. It’s just wonderful that these young people care so much and have put so much effort in to this.
The under-grass mesh will cost around £9,000 and the gates and fencing a further £2,000. We are planning to install the mesh ourselves so will be looking for volunteers.
Looking to the future, we will be starting a larger project to revamp the existing Doorstep Green, enlarging the play area with equipment for a wider range of youngsters as well as older people. We will also be improving the paths and seating areas along with the wildlife area, as well as using the new field for recreation and ball games etc. This is going to take time and money, luckily there are grants out there that we can call upon. The Village Committee want to get people involved and get everyone’s ideas – especially (grand)parents and youngsters, so we will be asking everyone in the village for their thoughts and maybe getting a small group together to work on this.
If anyone is interested in being part of this group please contact me (Janet Norman-Philips Janet Norman-Philips 678835 or pc@redlingfield.suffolk.gov.uk).
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