Sandy community comes together for Pride of Place Day

A community came together for a Pride of Place Day to help create a safer environment and tidy up a residential estate.

Central Bedfordshire Council hosted the event to improve the look of the Winchester Road estate at the Jenkins Pavillion in Sandy earlier this month.

Residents were invited to drop in for tea and a chat with their local councillors, Bedfordshire Fire and Police services and Grand Union Housing Group.

They were also given the opportunity to view progress on the Neighbourhood Plan, provide their feedback on the estate improvements, and find out about the town council’s proposal for a skatepark.

And they were provided with information on how to join a community litter pick and find out about volunteering and wellbeing opportunities.

The council’s environment team also undertook a waste amnesty during the day, gathering bulky waste in the area, clearing fly-tipping, and collecting unwanted furniture, bikes and household items suitable for the council’s reuse shop at Thorn Turn.

Feedback from residents highlighted parking difficulties in the areas of Winchester Road and Engayne Avenue.

Several unused Grand Union garages have been demolished and brick planters, some of which were overgrown and crumbling, have been removed. This has resulted in an additional 85 parking spaces across the estate.

New planting will create a safer, greener, and cleaner local neighbourhood. Footway and drainage improvements works are now complete.

Councillor Ian Dalgarno, Executive Member for Community Services said: “With our officers and partners out in the community it meant we spoke to lots of residents about a variety of topics important to them.

“We have also received positive feedback from residents on the changes made so far, praising the teams for creating the parking spaces needed to prevent dangerous parking on the grass verges.”

Doug Grace, Director of Property Services at Grand Union, said: “After nearly seven years’ collaborative work between Grand Union, Central Bedfordshire Council and Sandy Town Council, it was great to see the local community coming together on the Pride of Place Day.

“One of Grand Union’s goals is to build stronger communities and so we’re delighted with how well this project has gone. We’re also proud to be enhancing the area’s biodiversity by installing 12 swift boxes across the estate, and we’ll also be planting trees, hedgerows, and ground cover. This comes after we’ve just published our Environmental Sustainability Strategy.”