Working together for Ideal Park

Sometimes when starting out a new project like Use-It, it can take a few weeks to really start making the transformation on the ground.  We’ve had some fantastic meetings with our partner cities and within Birmingham, but it was this week, that really showed the project starting to translate to great work on the ground.

All this, well deserved, focus was on Ideal Park, a triangular park at the heart of the Ideal Village in Bordesley Green, a suburb of inner East Birmingham.  To cut a long story very short, over the past 20+ years, the park really hasn’t been given the attention it deserves.  Added to that, a lot of people don’t know it even exists – including myself before autumn last year!

That’s why it was such a great joy to see around 30 people from the local community and different organisations host an event to celebrate the park (with great homemade cakes) and a have site visit afterwards.  What’s really special here, is that the whole project has been bought together in partnership with Use-it.  

Originally Birmingham City University Community Researchers spoke with the local community, who in turn introduced the Ideal Park Residents Association and Friends of Ideal Park.  Contact was then made with Birmingham City Council (East Birmingham Programme).  This in turn led to Birmingham Open Spaces Forum (BOSF), Hodge Hill Neighbourhood Network Scheme (HHNNS), St Pauls Church centre and Bordesley Green Police joining in.  Then of course, yesterday’s event was opened-up to organisations across the wider area and city.

It’s early days but judging by the mood yesterday, this is just the beginning of an existing journey for Ideal Park and Use-It will be proud to be an important part of this.