£2m lottery funding will bring big benefits to Peterborough's Nene Park Trust

Following an 18 month development phase, the trust can now proceed with its £3 million Your Community Greenspace project which contains three key themes:

. Empowering and engaging communities to help conserve the natural heritage of Nene Park

. Building bridges with the multi-cultural communities of Peterborough to make Ferry Meadows an inclusive community hub

. Improving physical and mental health and wellbeing through nurturing connections with nature and the outdoors.

Wider plans include:

. Developing the activities and events programme to become more reflective of, and responsive to, the local community

Strengthening the volunteering offer at Nene Park, with a focus on corporate volunteering, giving the local community enhanced opportunities to help manage the park and its natural heritage

. Replacing Pontoon Bridge, an iconic landmark of the park that is reaching its end-of-life, and refreshing the welcome area and toilets

. Appointing apprentices to work closely with rangers to learn essential landscape/habitat management skills

. Developing transport opportunities to support groups getting to and around Nene Park

. Forming a volunteer project support group with a youth panel to help steer the direction of the project and ensure community groups are involved in its development.

Matthew Bradbury, Nene Park Trust chief executive, said: “We have a strong track record of providing a park that is much loved by our community; but we want to take steps to ensure Nene Park is as inclusive as possible for all of Peterborough’s residents.

"This grant will allow us to implement a transformative and impactful project for the trust and Nene Park. We are extremely grateful for this fantastic show of support for our work from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.”

Nene Park Trust will be recruiting additional staff to expand the team as it looks to develop the project over the next few years.

MP for North West Cambridgeshire Shailesh Vara said: "I am very pleased that Nene Park Trust has been awarded this generous amount by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to help empower and engage our communities and build on making Ferry Meadows an inclusive community hub.

“We are very fortunate to have such a diverse range of cultures within our community and the Community Greenspace project will help to bring those communities together and enhance the existing facilities that are already available at Ferry Meadows.”