Footpaths Improvement & Basketball Nets Project

Who are we?

Ardagh Community Trust (ACT) is a charity (No' 1172556) which is working to improve the quality and availability of facilities at the Ardagh site, in the centre of Horfield Common for the benefit of our local, and wider community. 

ACT provides space for our community, including public gardens, sports courts and play spaces, services including the Cafe on the Common, and more for our local community.

We need your support to pay for the costs of repairing the paths throughout the site, and improving access, so that we do not have to close areas as we move into the winter. Some of the paths around the gardens are in very poor condition and have deteriorated to be unsafe. 

This work needs to be done urgently, so we are asking for your help to ensure that the Ardagh stays open and accessible for everyone in the short-term.

Long-term, Trustees are working on plans for improvement of the quality of other areas of the site, including the sports courts. If we can raise £10,000 in donations through this Crowdfunder, Sport England will match this through their 'Places and Spaces' fund & with that additional money, we’ll also be able to bring the sports court that is currently closed (because the surface is unsafe) back into use for informal play. And we’ll be able to add a couple of basketball posts & nets for knockabout play – something that has been top of a list of requests from local young people since the charity took on responsibility for managing the site in 2019. 

We want everyone to be able to come here and to enjoy the facilities that the Ardagh offers. The need for improvements to the paths is now urgent; please help us to ensure that all of the Ardagh remains open for community use – and that it gets even better - by supporting our fundraising campaign.

Community impact

ACT took on responsibility for maintenance and management of the Ardagh site from Bristol City Council in 2019. Prior to that, the site had been earmarked for sale for development which meant that the site was dilapidated and had not been maintained for many years. ACT has regenerated the Ardagh site, providing a new cafe service for local people and improving access to the site for all. Hundreds of local residents now use the Ardagh site daily for wellbeing, sport, leisure and community activities. ACT's work impacts positively on people of all ages living in the local area. This is a recent ITV News broadcast from the Ardagh which gives an insight into the site and our work: https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-05-26/the-historic-bristol-site-thats-been-brought-back-to-life-and-is-now-thriving

‘How our project will be United by Birmingham 2022’

We are thrilled that match funding is available to help community organisations in the UK celebrate the legacy of this year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. This project will help us to create a local legacy and to celebrate the Commonwealth Games.

We are a small, local charity and community anchor organisation which focuses on improving outcomes for all members of our local community. We champion participation and inclusion & along with the Commonwealth Games 2022 aim to achieve a lasting positive impact. We bring people together championing diversity, humanity and pride. We support activities which improve health and wellbeing - inspiring, engaging and connecting our community to realise their full potential and live happier, healthier lives.

Why are we crowdfunding?

ACT is waiting for a series of permissions which will enable the charity to fundraise for significant improvements to the sports courts, public gardens (which the charity has brought back into use since 2019), play spaces and wider site (including, for example a changing places facility). 

While we wait for these, the site is continuing to decline & we need to undertake remedial work to the paths to ensure that the whole site can stay open for use. 

Additionally, we plan to install 2 basketball posts & nets on one of the existing courts so that these can be used for informal play. This provision has been requested by local young people since prior to ACT's achievement of the CAT lease in 2019 and will respond to demand, and increasing need locally for good quality, affordable play and informal sports spaces which can be used by the community. 

This crowdfunding campaign will be matched £1 for £1 up to £10.000 so if we are successful - we will be able to do both! 

How we’ll spend the money raised

If we raise £10,000 from pledges, this will be matched by Crowdfunder which means that the money will go much furthher! 

The money will be spent on urgent remedial work to make the paths around the site safe and accessible for all (£15, 000). We have recently had an accessibility survey and health & safety assessment, both of which have advised that this work is urgent, and will mean that the charity will not need to close areas of the site for use by members of the public. 

The basketball posts, nets & installation of them will cost £5,000. These will be installed on an existing sports court for use for informal play by local people - including local children and young people. As well as the posts themselves, backboards, nets and installation, this project will also make basic improvements to the tarmac surface of the court to enable it to be brought back into use; it has not been open for use for more than 1 year because the surface is not safe for use currently. 

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success! Any amount will help us get to our grand total!

2. Please spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and ask your friends, family & neighbours to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out! If you'd like to donate a prize for us to offer to people for a donation to our project - please get in touch: [email protected]

4. If you want to run your own fundraiser to support us, maybe a sponsored activity or similar, use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!