Bermondsey residents are raising money to revamp a small local park that has links to Ada Salter, the trailblazing socialist mayor of Bermondsey in the 1920s.
Local organisation Trees for Bermondsey are running the campaign to give Shuttleworth Park a makeover. The park is bounded by Southwark Park Road to the north, Galleywall Road to the east and the Manor Estate to the west.
Trees for Bermondsey say they want to reconnect the park “to the heart of the Blue market place and to make it a welcoming, nature-filled oasis for the whole community to enjoy”.
As part of this, the group will plant more flowers and put in new hedgerows. A longer-term target is to refurbish the children’s play area that sits in the middle of the park.
Trees for Bermondsey also want to repair an older water pump in the site and turn it into a working fountain.
Organisers Kat Hayes and Sarah Vaughan originally thought the park was designed by Ada Salter, who after the First World War started the beautification programme to build parks and plant trees in the area, which was heavily polluted at the time.
It turns out that she actually designed Shuttleworth Gardens, across Galleywall Road, which have since been replaced by buildings, as well as the area that is now Shuttleworth Park, which was then a children’s playground.
Trees for Bermondsey feel a connection to Ada, and with this year marking the one hundredth anniversary of her becoming mayor, Kat and Sarah said that revamping the park would be a good way to continue her legacy.
“We just thought it was a shame that we have this park not really being used that much but with so much potential,” Kat said. “Southwark Park Road has hardly any greenery and it would be nice to change that.”
The fundraiser has got more than £2,700 so far, as well as more funding from an M&S scheme and a possible grant from Southwark Council. All being well, planting should start this autumn, with the first flowers to appear next spring.
Kat added: “It’s just a small little park but it could be lovely!”
To donate to the fundraiser click here.