20k raised for Chesham park project

More than £20,000 has been raised towards a new inclusive early-years playground in Chesham’s Lowndes Park.

A Crowdfunder launched by community group Love Lowndes has so far raised £20,531 from more than 600 supporters, passing the halfway mark of its £40,000 online fundraising target.

The Crowdfunder forms part of a wider effort to raise £150,000 to build a new playground for babies and toddlers, as well as to replace the zip wire for older children.

Love Lowndes is a volunteer-run community group working in partnership with Chesham Town Council as part of the Friends of Lowndes Park project.

Lowndes Park is one of Chesham’s main green spaces, and the group says the existing early-years play facilities are worn out, inaccessible and no longer meet the needs of local families.

According to the group, the new playground will be designed to be imaginative, inclusive and sustainable, with equipment aimed at supporting children of different abilities and encouraging creative play.

Fundraising has included donations, community events and the sale of personalised “legacy bricks” that will be built into pathways within the new play area.

Love Lowndes said the total £150,000 target reflects the cost of building modern play spaces, with around 30 per cent of a typical budget spent on surfacing alone, alongside fencing, seating, signage and design work.

The group previously completed a major refurbishment of the park’s 5–11s playground, which opened in March last year after two years of fundraising.

That earlier phase raised £220,000 and was supported by a combination of community fundraising, grant funding and corporate sponsorship, with Chesham Town Council contributing £35,500.

Love Lowndes said the new early-years playground will form the second phase of a wider masterplan for Lowndes Park, developed following consultations with residents and experts in park design.

The group said the aim is to create a play space that reflects Chesham’s heritage, works with the surrounding landscape and provides a welcoming environment for young children and their carers.

Further fundraising is planned, alongside applications for additional grant funding, as the group works towards its overall target.

Love Lowndes added that the more money raised, the more creative and ambitious the final design of the playground can be.