Parks access group's joy at £250k Lotto fund boost

Disabled people and carers in Bristol and Bath are set to enjoy a breath of fresh air thanks to a major cash injection into making local parks more accessible.

- Lewis Clarke [e-mail]

A £250,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund has been awarded to grassroots charity Your Park Bristol & Bath to help tackle long-standing barriers to access in green spaces.

The funding will support the charity's 'Parks 4 All' initiative, the only project of its kind in the UK developed with disabled people and carers, aimed at transforming parks into more inclusive spaces.

The grant follows a major research project by the charity which found that one in three local residents is either living with a disability or caring for someone who is. Over half of those surveyed reported that visits to local parks negatively affected their mental health, due to poor access and a lack of appropriate facilities.

Over the next two years, the Parks 4 All project will focus on three main areas. It will create the first community-led accessibility assessments for parks, in partnership with disabled people and carers. These will inform a toolkit to help local groups assess and improve green spaces, set to be published in 2026.