Condover Woodland Park transformed following Severn Trent Community Fund award

The £3,500 award was granted to Condover Parish Council last year from Severn Trent’s Community Fund to improve accessibility to the ‘much-loved’, 5-hectare Condover Woodland Park. 

The grant has enabled major work to be carried out across the park, such as improvements to the park’s entrance to make it more accessible for people with disabilities and mobility issues; engaging a tree consultant to draw up a long-term plan to manage the trees in the park; trimming and cutting down dangerous trees; buying and installing bat boxes and owl nest boxes; and creating an area for children and schools for education purposes.  

Much of the work was carried out by a dedicated team of volunteers from the local community, with 30 metres of new hedgerow also having been planted. 

Peter Gore, Parish Councillor for Condover Parish Council said that this work would not have been possible without the grant from Severn Trent, which was supplemented by a £200 donation from the council. 

He said: “Although Condover is a semi-rural area, there isn’t a lot of open access for people to take exercise and walk. It’s mainly farmland that surrounds us so the woodland park is one facility that you can get away to for a bit of peace and quiet and enjoy the open countryside. 

“The transformation has been considerable. The facilities have been improved, the site is a lot more accessible, and the tree stock has improved so the whole woodland is a lot better because of it. 

“We were very pleased when we found out that we had been awarded the grant as we weren’t really expecting anything. It’s allowed us to do a lot of work that we wouldn’t have done normally.” 

Peter believes the ‘real benefits’ of the work that has been completed will be seen this summer. 

He added: “I was down at the park recently and I saw a girl who is an amputee, and it was the first time she had been able to visit, which was a wonderful thing. As soon as the weather improves, I can’t wait to see it being used more often by people. It will be very popular with walkers and dog walkers as it backs onto the local countryside.” 

Severn Trent’s Community Fund was created for community groups and projects that aim to improve community wellbeing through three key themes:  

People: Projects that help people to lead a healthier life and gain new skills. 

Places: Projects that help to create better places to live in and use. 

Environment: Projects that will help look after our natural environment. 

Jade Gough, Community Fund Officer, said: “We’re over the moon to be able to provide funding for some crucial improvements at Condover Woodland Park to ensure everyone in the local community can benefit from this wonderful space. 

“We already know how popular this park was with the local community, and as the weather improves it will be great to see everyone enjoying the many improvements that have been made as a result of this grant.”