Windfall for Green Makeover ; WEST BROMWICH

PART of West Bromwich is to receive a green makeover thanks to pounds 60,000 in lottery funding.

The money will be used to regenerate the Harvills Hawthorn and Millfields areas of Sandwell.

A partnership involving the Riverside Group – a social housing and regeneration organisation – was awarded the grant under the Big Lottery’s Changing Spaces programme.

People will be taking part in regenerating open spaces and a youth warden scheme will create links with younger residents.

Deborah Shackleton, chief executive at the Riverside Group, said the project would have a dramatic and lasting effect on the Harvills Hawthorn and Millfields area.

“Good quality green spaces are essential to the well-being and future of our towns and cities. We have ignored the green spaces of housing estates for far too long, to the detriment of the people who live right by them,” she said.

“A well-designed environment can transform local communities, providing places for people to play and relax. This can also have a positive impact on health, can contribute to tackling anti-social behaviour, and help reduce the impact of climate change.”

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