Chair's update: September

Tom Walker, Chair

I have been chairing Abney Park Trust for the last eighteen months. These have been very challenging times and we are really grateful for all the support we have had: contributions to our emergency funding, attendance at events, volunteering and more.

The Trustees are really proud of the opportunity we have to look after the park and tell the stories of its past. We have been pleased to keep up our online events and engagement and build a permanent and accessible series of talks.

September will see the formal start of the historic and exciting National Heritage Lottery Fund-supported restoration project. This renovation will bring new community spaces, boost biodiversity, restore the chapel and improve access. We have been working with the Council for many years on these plans. They create a huge opportunity for Abney – but will see significant building work and changes to park access as the work progresses. We will have a temporary base in the construction compound, so we'll still be around.

We will keep the comms up to date as things change so please follow us on social media – all the links you need are at the bottom of this email. We will always try to answer questions if you contact us during the works: just drop us a line on info@abneypark.org. And if you want to find out more you can watch the talk by architect Mike Kaner which summarises the plans.

We have also been recruiting new Trustees and will be able to announce their names very soon. Our events programme is up and running in real life, and we are always open to ideas and suggestions. We will be hosting some free events this autumn for Hackney residents as we pursue our aim of widening access to Abney for the whole community. We will share details shortly.

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