Wem Millennium Green Trust celebrates National Lottery funding

The Trust, based in Aston Street, Wem, will use the money to refurbish the interior of the old chapel, replace the old tables and chairs used for community events, remove old vegetation, replace them with new shrubs and improve the paths to make them more accessible for those with mobility issues.

Wem Millennium Green has been open since December 2001 and is run by Trustees from the community. It is one of 245 areas of green space created in England to celebrate the turn of the millennium. 

The Trust’s aims are that the Green makes a substantial contribution to the life of the whole community and is able to be enjoyed by people of all ages and physical abilities, as well as being an attractive place for people to take air and exercise, meet others and pursue leisure activities and pastimes consistent with the shared enjoyment of the Green. It has an area suitable for community events and celebrations, as well as "natural" areas, where people can enjoy nature and wildlife at first hand. 

The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest community funder in the UK, will see a rejuvenation of the Green to enable these aims to be fulfilled.

At the same time, the Trust will be able to offer the Green for use for community events and groups to meet up. 

Edward Towers, Shropshire Councillor for Wem, Wem Rural and Whixall, says: “This is an encouraging, ambitious and well-planned project that will also raise ‘The Green’s’ profile. It will attract users of all ages to enjoy new opportunities in this healthy outdoor recreational space and involve additional volunteers who may wish to join the team behind this project; working together to secure it for future residents to enjoy.”

Judy Freeman, Wem Millennium Green Trustee], says: ”The National Lottery funding has given us a wonderful opportunity to breathe new life back into our beautiful community garden.” 

The National Lottery Community Fund recently launched its strategy, ‘It starts with community’, which will underpin its efforts to distribute at least £4 billion of National Lottery funding by 2030. 

As part of this, the funder has four key missions, which are to support communities to come together, be environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives. 

National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. Thanks to them, last year (2023/24) The National Lottery Community Fund awarded over half a billion pounds of life-changing funding to communities across the UK, supporting over 13,700  projects to turn their great ideas into reality. 

To find out more, visit TNLCommunityFund.org.uk