SAVS Quarterly Newsletter Apr-Jun 19

“
We are so proud of
all we have achieved
so far, A Better Space
has aspirations, it has
potential, this is what a
community green space
could look like, this
could be a model that
could grow.
“
CREATING A BETTER SPACE
The A Better Space project has
naturally grown and developed
over the last two years. We can
now see the hard work from A
Better Start Southend’s parents
and what the amazing support
from the SAVS Engagement
Team can really do. We have
all worked very closely with
Southend Borough Council’s
Parks Team, Make Southend
Sparkle, Southend Police Force
and local artist Dave Taylor.
The story so far is amazing and
we have now seen the first of
our new additions installed -
with the funding we received
from Make Southend Sparkle
we commissioned Dave Taylor
to help us produce two mosaics
to sit either side of the main
gates at Milton Gardens. The
mosaic designs were developed
and drawn from the parents’
ideas. For the A Better Space
team it was important that
designs identified Milton
Gardens by name, that it
connected with the children,
the families and the community
that use it and we thought
using hand-prints to create the
designs was a perfect way to do
this. The idea of the key came
from a discussion with parents
about how their children
would pretend to look for one
to open the treasure chest,
situated in the nature trail.
Dave transferred our design
drawings and then ran two
workshops showing parents and
their children how to produce
the mosaics with glass tiles. It’s
been an amazing experience
and now for us to see them
installed we think they look
even more beautiful than we
could have imagined and are so
very proud of them.
With the CIL funding we
received last year from the
council we are now looking
forward to seeing the arrival of
two new animals; a zebra and
a ladybird, a large butterfly
shaped insect hotel, three
nature boards and raised
flowers beds alongside the
tennis courts.
We are also looking forward
to replacing the three waste
bins over the summer using
money that has been donated
to us from Folk Like Us and
The Balmoral Centre and also
money that is currently being
raised via the Hamlet Court
Road Co-op.
Watch this space, this story
will continue to evolve and we
will keep you updated with its
progress.
www.savs-southend.org | info@savs-southend.co.uk | 01702 356 000
SAVS Newsletter 19/20 Q2 | PAGE 17