It is important that communities are able to get to and from their key amenities throughout the year whatever the weather. In Sandford on Thames a popular set of paths allow off-road access throughout the dry months but in the winter the residents are forced to walk beside a busy road to get to their village hall, wonderful local café, the village recreation ground with its play area and the newly planted community orchard.
A grant from TOE’s Local Environment Fund, with funding from South Oxfordshire District Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy, is supporting the paths to be upgraded with all-weather surfaces. Additional funding is being provided by the Parish Council and the neighbouring hotel.
These paths will allow families and other residents to enjoy the green spaces that exist behind the buildings along the main road. The paths cut through a recently planted orchard and gives views over the nearby countryside. Allowing children and adults easy access through countryside during their every day lives improves their feeling of wellbeing and will help encourage them to preserve and protect the natural world around them.
This grant is one of a series of applications improving the the green spaces around Sandford on Thames and is a wonderful example of TOE’s ability to fund several complementary projects in the same area.
