The idea
The Park View 4U Eco Pod building was an essential facility for the people of Lytham and the Fylde with over 20,000 visitors each year. Unfortunately due to severe flood damage the building was declared unsafe in Summer 2023 and is currently being demolished.
We have been fundraising for 18 months to build a new Community Centre and have successfully raised £300,000. We now only need £18,000 to be able to create this new facility.
Our new centre will have a multi purpose community space that is bright and airy, with underfloor heating, a large projector screen, kitchen, toilets and additional hand washing facilities for visitors to wash their hands after a busy morning in our kitchen garden or woodland.
It will be used by all ages and abilities for a range of wellbeing and educational activities including environmental education, yoga, drama, yarn social, baby massage, smarter running, junior herbalist club, music, dance, toddler groups, heritage crafts and more.
What we'll deliver
- Build a new Community Centre
Why it's a great idea
There is a shortage of Community Centre's on the Fylde so creating this new facility will provide a lifeline to many members of our community, especially those who are socially isolated. This building will provide a hub in the heart of Lytham.
We know there is a huge demand for this facility as our previous Eco Pod was fully booked every day and evening. The community groups who previously used our building are desperate to come back, as it is an ideal meeting place for 3 generations in the centre of a very busy community park.
We have many years of experience in delivering a wide range of award winning health and wellbeing activities, exercise and skill sharing as well as Forest School and outdoor education for all of the local schools. We also support NHS social prescribing and we would love to be able to continue to provide a warm space and make a difference for families and those who need our support the most.
Steps to get it done
- Install storage cupboards for sports equipment, art materials, forest school equipment
- Install storage for tables and chairs so that the space can be used safely by families and small children
- Add a water bottle filling station on the outside to support running group, skateboarders etc.
- Create an accessible path around the community centre and ramp to accessible entrance
- Open the Community Centre Summer 2025 to deliver a range of health, wellbeing and creative activities for all
In order to keep the costs down we are recycling as many items as possible from our original Eco Pod including doors, windows, solar panels etc.
We are also adding some new Eco facilities such as a water bottle refill station to reduce the amount of plastic bottles we find on the park and make fresh drinking water accessible.
As we have many years of experience of how people use a Community Centre we have been able to design our new facility to meet the needs of our community.
