Colliers Court in Frome benefitted from a makeover recently thanks to a community initiative set up by Somerset County Council, construction company Skanska and admin company Southwest One.
The partners’ initiative, new for 2016, offers time and manpower to make improvements to community spaces.
Colliers Court Resource Centre, a Frome community space which hosts a café run by adults with learning disabilities, saw its outdoor space spruced up by the volunteers last month.
The space at the Centre was once used for fetes and various activities but the patio areas had become worn, deteriorated, un-level, overgrown and was not safe for use.
Earlier this month a team of nine volunteers took up the challenge to clear and fix the outside space. They hacked back and cleared all overgrown shrubbery, brambles, removed old tree stumps and transformed the area.
A Skanska specialist sub-contractor, P&D Surfacing, relaid all the patio slabs and tarmacked the external path areas connecting nearby homes to the resource centre.
A staff member at Colliers Court said, “I would like to express my sincere gratitude on behalf of staff and customers for all the team have done to help us restore the garden area at Colliers Court to a state where we can now access it and enjoy spending time preparing it for the spring.
“The team worked so hard to bring the whole area back to life and we are extremely grateful for this. Many thanks again for all your support.”
Councillor William Wallace, Somerset cabinet member with responsibility for learning disability services said, “It is fantastic that the council, along with our partners, are able and willing to spare the time to give something back to the community.
“This refurbishment of the outdoor space will make a real difference to the residents and visitors of Colliers Court.”
Skanska general manager Alex Baker added, “This a great cause and is a perfect example of a collaborative approach to restoring an area in need of attention. The result has improved the lives and experience of the centre’s users. Community engagement is very important for Skanska and is directly aligned with our values. We are looking forward to the next community improvement project, which we expect to deliver in spring 2017.”
A spokesperson for Southwest One said, “The team at Southwest One all enjoyed the day and are delighted that it has made such a difference to the property, residents and visitors and look forward to visiting when we are passing to see how it develops.”
Enquiries and bookings for the communal space and café at Colliers Court can be made by emailing
wpcmendip@somerset.gov.uk
