They have until late February to raise the remaining approximately £150,000 By Victoria Munro
Members of the ELWP team (credit: Jonathan Perugia/Gaia Visual)
A group of local volunteers hoping to buy Leyton a new public park have extended their fundraiser until February in the hopes of meeting their goal.
The East London Waterworks Park team hope to eventually raise £3million to buy an underused depot opposite the Lee Valley Ice Centre from the Department of Education.
Their vision, as explained earlier this year by member Peter Mudge, is to turn it into a “brownfield rainforest”, with a wild swimming spot, Forest School and nature reserve.
After falling around £150,000 shy of their £500,000 goal today, the team have extended the crowdfunder until 28th February.
In an update to supporters, member Abigail Woodman wrote: “We haven’t reached our target yet but really believe we can if we have more time. I don’t think it’s overly dramatic to say that things feel extremely uncertain right now.
“When we launched the crowdfunder on 28th June, I don’t think any of us foresaw the chaos we would be living through. But, [despite] all the financial challenges, we have raised over a third of a million pounds.
“We have a clear goal in mind: our biodiverse community park rising like a phoenix from the concrete, where nature rules and people feel at peace despite any chaos swirling around their daily lives.
“But our journey, how we get from here to there, is not mapped out in detail. As a truly community project, our path unfolds in front of us in response to revealed circumstances.
“We have not, how shall I put it, decided the outcome of the consultation before we’ve even spoken to you. We are, in a word, flexible.”
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