FoSG came into existence in November 2013 when BANES first planned to apply for Heritage Lottery Funding. Although the first application did not proceed, we fully supported the Heritage Lottery bid in 2018 and were delighted when Sydney Gardens was awarded Heritage Lottery Funding of £2.7m.
The planned upgrade to Sydney Gardens that the funding will allow is very exciting. Members of our committee regularly attend Steering Group meetings to put forward the views of our members and liaise regularly with the Project Team leaders. This gives the committee regular involvement and influence as the project develops.
Since our inception FoSG has developed to support the gardens in many ways. Alongside our work on the Heritage Lottery Funding project, we offer monthly Guided Walks of the gardens, from both a historic and future development perspective. We also help with the upkeep of Sydney Gardens, with monthly gardening sessions and weekly litter collections.
We would very much welcome your support for Sydney Gardens and your help with any or all of these tasks, or just show your support by joining FoSG. Our annual subscription is £5. Members receive regular newsletters by email and/or hand delivered and we have a website which is regular updated. We also organise an annual ‘Community Day’ in Sydney Gardens, which is supported by BANES. Please put the date in your diary for this year’s event – 15th September – and come and join us for an afternoon of entertainment in your local park.
We look forward to hearing from you via our membership secretary Mr. J Sparrow, 43, Forester Road, BA2 6QE phone: 01225 466422, email: jsparrow@talktalk.net