Funding provided by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames for the initial public consultation and proposed Master Plan design was expected to take us to a second stage of public consultation, planning application, and approaches to third party funders.

However, inevitable delays and disruption due to Covid 19 meant securing additional funding to reach that stage. Early in 2021, we applied to the London Mayor’s Resilience Co-Funding scheme with an overwhelming response from the local community: over 140 people pledged over £10,000, encouraging the Mayor pledged a further £13,000. This ensured that we reached, and later exceeded, our target. Spending has included immediate small improvements (outdoor seating and planters), and trialing days, including an extremely popular Skate Day. In addition, the proposed Master Plan is in its final stages of preparation to be available for viewing and your comments via our website, a survey and at open consultation events throughout the summer of 2021.

We hope that the Project will be seen as a single, unified scheme. However, keeping the park open and accessible is important, so works will also need to phased. Therefore, some individual elements may be phased and/or funded separately.

Anticipated Funding Model

• Local Community fund-raising to demonstrate community interest and involvement.  The fund-raising earlier this year was a great start.
• Third Party funding from organisations supporting community engagement, conservation, outdoor learning, recreation and exercise and well-being.
• Richmond Council, as owner of Vine Road as well as being the local authority. Given current LA funding constraints, this contribution will likely be limited, but will play a vital role in helping leverage funds raised by the community and give confidence to third party funders.

The implications of Covid on third party funding priorities are uncertain. Charities and organisations previously supportive of similar projects may themselves suffer from an economic impact. However, it is also possible that the government will encourage new initiatives aimed at offering rapid opportunities for employment and long-term benefits for the community, particularly in the areas of wellbeing, outdoor learning, energy efficiency and resilience which lie at the heart of this project.