The Land Trust has announced that it has secured funding of £291,000 from the Denise Coates Foundation that should ultimately rise to £747,123.
The grant will enable the Land Trust to carry out a major project at the Trust’s site at Hassall Green, a two hectare green space which the Land Trust took ownership of in 2014.
The planned five year programme will see extensive improvements made to the site with four key objectives:
- Make the site safe for regular use by the general public
- Restore and improve habitats
- Increase biodiversity
- Engage the community
Euan Hall, chief executive of the Land Trust, said, “We are delighted to receive this funding from the Denise Coates Foundation. It is a significant sum of money that will make a real difference to the charitable objectives that we are able to deliver at Hassall Green.
“The current site budget only allows for a relatively basic level of maintenance to be performed and the additional funding will enable the Trust to undertake a transformative programme over the short and long term. This will significantly improve the site and its habitats; making it more aesthetically pleasing, enhancing its biodiversity and creating a real focal point for the local community.”
The grant will also enable the Land Trust to expand its successful Green Angels training and education programme which delivers training courses on subjects including habitat creation and management, environmental education and hard landscaping. The project focuses on encouraging social cohesion and improving the future prospects of the local community. Initially trialled on a former Land Trust site in Liverpool, Green Angels has helped nearly half of its participants back into employment, while many others have gone onto further education.
Denise Coates CBE, Denise Coates Foundation Trustee commented, “The trustees are delighted that the Foundation could be a part of this project which will see the development of an old industrial site into an area of natural beauty, freely available for the local community to enjoy.”
