Transform and rejuvenate St Andrew's Church gardens into a tranquil green space at the very heart of Rugby town. The gardens are already central to many town festivals and celebrations, for example, the annual Food and Drink Festival but are overgrown, a little tired and can suffer with anti-social behaviour. We pledge to: 1.Reduce and replenish current planting: making more space for community events; a flagship bee friendly garden, whilst improving sight lines, with the aim of reducing anti social behaviour in the centre of town. 2. Co-curate the space with users, installing a water fountain, charging points and a story telling chair. 3. Protect the current memorial garden by developing a community-driven arts commission, with new seating, offering a safe refuge for reflection. By pledging a minimum of £150 you can have a loved one's name included and remembered in the memorial - for more details and to confirm your pledge please contact events@rugbychurch.org.uk.

What we'll deliver:

• A new bespoke space for community and town events - with new power and space for more stalls, performance and play
• A flag ship, chemical free fully bee friendly, pollinators garden in the heart of town
• A specially commission public art piece, where people can pledge to remember a loved one
• An Ecobrick story telling chair, and programme of free weekly storytelling for all in the centre of town.
• More free music and performances for the community within the garden - to include more fectivals, markets and events
• A water refill and drinking fountain - (Church faculty to be confirmed)
• Solar powered charging bench - (Church faculty to be confirmed)

Why it's a great idea:

St Andrew's Gardens is a much loved and well used green space at the heart of Rugby Town. It's a key venue for the Rugby Bike Fest, Festival of Culture, and the Food Festival all of which are rapidly growing in success. We want to invest in the gardens to provide more scope for events, plus provide bespoke outdoor space for new initiatives and community projects. The gardens deserve a new lease of life - St Andrew's Gardens a space for everyone will do just that, transforming the space through new bee friendly planting specimens, creating a peaceful and tranquil space for all to enjoy. At the Heart will commission a new public art work which will zone the play and performance space from the peaceful area of the memorial garden. You can pledge to have a loved one memorialised and remembered in this special design.

Steps to get it done:

• Community engagement workshop with commissioned artist
• Reduce and replenish planting and bedding areas - to create better site lines into the gardens
• Commission bespoke public art work to zone memorial and performance areas
• Plant polinator friendly bedding circa 120 new plants - and install informaiton boards
• Install new art work and benches around the memorial zone
• Launch event and dedication of memorial area
• 3 editional community celebration and events in 2018/2019

Rugby Town Centre, like all small town centres, is struggling commercially. Why people come into town centres has changed, with a move away from retail towards leisure and tourism. Open, attractive green spaces are essential to develop the town's offer in both these areas (leisure and tourism).