Welcome from the Friends of Grange Park, Old Coulsdon

In the summer of 2016, following two years worth of hard fundraising efforts and design planning, we were able to build a brand new playground in Grange Park.  The new playground (designed by Proludic Limited) comprises many sustainable materials and is based on a highly bespoke design inspired by our local landscape and heritage.

The new playground is proving to be very popular with the local community of Old Coulsdon and beyond and we are seeing organisations for disabled children bring their children on outings to the playground, which has received the PiPA accreditation as an inclusive playground.  Our project received funding from Biffa Award and the London Marathon Charitable Trust, and a large part of the project funds came from the community- our local primary schools, residents' associations, businesses, community organisations and individuals.  From a recent consultation, we have found that more children in the community are getting more physical active as a result.

You can learn more about our journey to build the new playground here:

GRANGE PARK PERIMETER PATH - October 2023

Following a survey of the local community in 2017 the idea of a perimeter path around Grange Park was born.  Discussions with Croydon followed, whilst being very supportive of the path they were not in a position to fund the project, or to provide the technical support required to obtain competitive tenders.

One of our trustees had the necessary experience to prepare the contract documentation and a local resident kindly offered to prepare the drawings required.  Over the following five years there were many meetings with Croydon and mountains of correspondence which did nothing to progress the project.  In early 2022 there was a change of Council officer personnel, he was very supportive of the path initiative and finally there was the necessary impetus to move the project forward with tenders being received in December 2022.

Unfortunately, due to the delay in getting the project off the ground construction costs had risen to such an extent the Friends were no longer able to fund the whole project.  We were fortunate to receive the required top up finance from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).  CIL is funded by contributions from building developers to support infrastructure projects in the local community.  Securing this funding, which was supported by the mayor, was vital in enabling the perimeter path project to become a reality.  The Friends were able to fund 75% (£90,000) of the project cost with the remainder being provided by the CIL.

The Friends would like to thank all those of the local community who have supported this project.  The Friends hope that the path will open up the park and allow everybody to benefit from being able to access the park.  There are six benches that have been sponsored by local people and an organisation in memory of loved ones.  This will give park users the opportunity to sit, ponder and reflect.

Some frequently asked questions:-

What is the length of the path?  - 632 metres/691 yards

How many laps is one mile? – approximately 2.5laps.

Why the benches not central on the bases?  - the space accommodates buggy/wheelchair so the person can be next to bench enabling conversation.