London Projects

ITV London transmits to people living throughout Greater London and its borders.

Over the past five years of the People’s Millions competition we have seen some great projects in the region. Previous winners include a specialised playground, a sailing project, creation of new children’s play areas and many more.

Putting Down Roots

The project will renovate a neglected churchyard and bring it back into wider community use.

Ahoy Centre Slipway Development Project

The project would transform a slipway into the tidal Thames at Deptford which is used by local young people and people with physical and mental disabilities to access boating and sailing opportunities through the AHOY centre. The new slipway would incorporate sculptures, murals and attractive designs as well as a new surface making it easier to keep clean. The project also incorporates improved disabled access.

The Sound Garden

The project is to create a sound garden containing naturally powered sound sculptures.

Outdoor Playground

The project is to create and install a specialised playground at Gosden House School.

Adventure Playground for Special Needs Students

The project will create a specific adventure playground for children with special needs to help them concentrate and focus on learning activities.

Building a bigger nest for our ducklings

The project will replace the pre-school's existing facilities through the purchase of a second-hand de-mountable building. The group will also create an enclosed and safe garden play area for the children. The improvements will allow the group to extend the number of places available and the opening hours. In addition, the facilities will be available for use by the wider community and will provide disabled access.

Hackney City Farm, Back to Earth Project

The project will use 60 volunteers and trainees to reclaim and clean up unused wasteland in and around Haggerston Park and local estates for public and community use such as community gardens or play areas.

Restoration of the Ilford PDSA animal cemetery

The project will repair and restore the pet cemetery in Ilford. The cemetery is a site of national and local interest which has fallen into disrepair. The project aims to construct wheelchair access, create a garden of remembrance, repair existing headstones and create a visitors information centre.

Tomorrow's Garden

The project will create an accessible environmentally friendly garden by transforming wasteland to construct a solar dome for the purpose of in house gardening. The area will also provide shelter from weather elements and opportunities for outdoor learning and seating.

The Juniper Crescent Play Project

This is a project to convert a rundown play area and communal garden in Juniper Crescent, a housing estate in a deprived area of Camden. The redevelopment will provide a brand new multi-purpose, modern play and recreational space. Different areas within the play area will cater for the needs of toddlers, children, young people, parents and elderly residents living on the Juniper Crescent estate with a variety of activity areas to stimulate the mind, encourage healthy active play, as well as to have fun in an enjoyable and safe environment. Volunteers will maintain the gardens and provide organised play activities. The group estimate that 440 people will benefit from the project.

Meanwhile Garden's Biodiversity Project

The project will create two educational areas in a community garden. It will develop an educational pond garden where the community can learn about improving biodiversity, conservation, sustainability, recycling and composting. The project will also develop an education food growing facility where the community can learn about the importance of growing your own food and how easy this process is. The project will benefit 8,000 people.

Treehouse Landscape for Learning

The project will transform the land around the National Centre for Autism Education into a wildlife area providing a habitat for birds, insects and wildlife. The group will plant trees and shrubs which, when matured, will provide a woodland walk to the boundaries of the site. The project will provide a safe, creative, sensory environment for the children at Treehouse. The group will work with local schools, other autism providers and community groups to extend opportunities and access to the facility. The 1700 beneficiaries, mainly those with autism, will benefit from a range of new learning opportunities both practical and creative, whilst contributing to the sustainment of the eco-system.

e-Wise

The project to be delivered by Centrepoint will involve the installation of an innovative computer system, e-Wise at Bruce House, which is a base for homeless people. The system will be installed in each of the forty nine rooms and enable the residents to have access to the internet, complete their studies, interact with friends and search and apply for jobs. The project will provide a disadvantaged group of people with the same opportunities as their peers. The project will also create a communal area where training sessions and social activities can take place. The total number of people to benefit from this project will be 49.

Sensory Garden Annexe Project

On a windy day in March 2009, over 50 local people gathered at Woodlawns Community Centre in Streatham to celebrate the official opening of the new garden room, funded by BIG through the People’s Millions programme. The Streatham Darby and Joan Club had previously received an Awards for All grant, and in early 2007 they decided to put in an application for People’s Millions – the funding programme that is decided by ITV London viewers. After winning the public vote in November of that year, work got under way in early 2008 on the new garden room and accessible walkway. The project will enable an ethnically diverse group of elderly people to enjoy their urban green space, improving access to an area that was previously out of bounds for many. h3. The local vote Just over one year on from the People's Millions public vote and the garden room was launched in March 2009. Darby and Joan members were joined by local primary schools and representatives from BIG, and even ITV returned to record the opening and feature the project on London Tonight. The garden room, with views across the pretty sensory garden, has given a new lease of life to the centre and the community itself. Darby and Joan members now enjoy cups of tea, card games and sing-alongs in the new annexe, overlooking and enjoying the centre’s garden.

Woodland Oasis - in an Urban Jungle

The project includes the creation of an attractive and multi-sensory woodland area in Gordon Primary School's playground. By careful fencing around the woodland and the installation of gates, the woodland will be accessible to children during school hours and to the community outside of schools hours by unlocking a community gate. There will be approximately 600 beneficiaries.

Learn to Play Steelpan

The project will deliver steel band sessions for 38 weeks, including classes for young people aged 16-24, targeted at those experiencing anti-social behaviour problems. Sessions will also be held for people with disabilities. Beneficiaries will have the opportunity to perform at various events and competitions involving the wider community. There will be 100 beneficiaries.

Family Action Gardening Project

The project will improve the internal and external areas at the Slough branch of Family Action. The project will involve transforming an unused and un-landscaped playing field by planting trees and shrubs to create a wildlife area and development of allotments to instigate a cross generational gardening project. Access will also be created to the garden for the crèche facility and an existing play area will be redeveloped. The project will benefit 14,500 people.

Rush Green Regeneration Project

The project will transform five acres of disused land into a nature reserve, seating area and allotments that can be used by both disabled and able bodied residents. Members of the community will help to carry out the work and will have input into the design of the site. The project will benefit 1,000 people.

Surrey Docks Mobile Farm

The project will deliver a mobile outreach farm service to bring animals, farming activities and instruction to local schools and festivals in the London area. Events will involve farm skill illustrations and will address issues relating to healthy eating and farming in a local and global context. There will be 2,400 beneficiaries.

Windmill Park Community Centre

The Windmill Park Community Centre is the thriving heart of the Windmill Park estate, but it is not used to its full potential. If successful, the money will be used to transform a disused room that currently serves as storage space into a sparkly new media and arts room, with an IT suite and recording studio. This addition to the centre will have a huge impact across the neighbourhood, opening up opportunities to learn everything from basic computer skills to how to design a website or to unleash their creative side in the recording studio and arts area. The extra space will mean more groups will be able to use the centre, whether through attending a training course, developing business ideas or just to let off some steam. The new facilities will help the estate to combat problems of unemployment and anti-social behavior by opening up new training opportunities to get people back into work and a space for young people to spend their time.

Kick Start for Life

The project will develop programmes of activities for children and young people with Down's Syndrome newly named as the Charlton Upbeats and will develop a band of volunteers and peer mentors to help the children with a range of activities. The Charlton Athletic Community Trust trust will deliver the activities at the Charlton Athletic training ground and The Valley, which is the clubs home ground. The programmes will include football, dance, drama, art, music, speech therapy and four environmental projects. The aim of the project is to provide community activities and make the young people feel part of their local community.

Give the Band a Home

-- About the Project -- The project will renovate and refurbish a building, which is located in the local community, to make it fit for purpose as the bands headquarters. The band will use this headquarters as a base to practice at and meet for community and other projects. Having a permanant home will allow the band to continue to build upon it's excellent foundations and strengthen it's position at the heart of the local community. The facility will also be made available to other groups in the area who struggle to find a place to meet. Many community groups in this heavily developed region struggle to find an affordable place to operate from. The aim of the project is to secure the bands future by providing a permanent home, after being part of the community for over 50 years a permanant home really isn't such a big ask! -- About The Band -- The Romford Drum & Trumpet Corps is a youth military style band, based in the London Borough of Havering. As one of the oldest independent youth marching bands in the country (formed in 1957), it has a proud history, with performances throughout the UK. In recent years the band has travelled further and performed in France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Gibraltar and the USA. Its uniforms, instrumentation and style is closely based upon that of the Armed Forces British Military Bands. The band has performed at prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Wembley Stadium, St Paul's Cathedral, Horseguards Parade and The London Palladium. It has also had the honour of performing in the presence of every member of the Royal Family including a performance at Buckingham Palace.As a registered charity, the band has for over fifty years provided the young people of Romford with a rewarding activity. Despite the band receiving no funding, as an organisation, it manages to give a good foundation to youngsters and has continued the ethos of its founder where membership to the band is free of charge. The band has been recognised for its contribution to the young people of Havering with awards such as "The Mayors Civic Award" "The Havering Business Award for Community Projects" and is one of only a few youth groups nationally to achieve a Gold status kite mark from the Assured Quality Youth Project. On the competition field the Romford Drum & Trumpet Corps has an impressive record of success. It has won the National Championships on seven occasions, including a hat-trick from 1987-89. In November 2003 & 2004 the band achieved the "Double" as the National Champions and National Class League Winners. It remains undefeated in marching competitions since then. In 2006 & 2008 the band entered European competitions and on both occasion were triple gold medallist in both marching and concert performance. The band has become increasingly more diverse and has attracted numerous high profile engagements. In recent years the band has performed the National Anthem at Twickenham for an England Rugby international, recorded a charity single with Roger Daltrey from THE WHO, and appeared on TV for the MTV awards. It was also invited to produce a "Band in the Stand" at rugby internationals to get the crowd singing. If you are interested in finding out more about the band follow the link to our website. "RDTC":http://www.rdtc.org

Cultivating Quality

The project for disabled people is called “Cultivating Quality” and is run by the leading disability charity Papworth Trust. The Essex-based project, “Cultivating Quality” involves developing a community garden in the midst of urban Basildon. This will be accessible to people with limited mobility and to gardeners of all ages, with raised beds for people that find bending difficult. It will include a sensory garden for people with hearing or sight impairments, and a wildlife area with a pond to improve the local ecology. The project will enable people with disabilities in the community to develop a range of work and life skills, while improving and sustaining the natural environment. The team will also work with volunteers, local schools and a group of students from Basildon Adult Community College. Clients at the centre in Basildon said; “I will be able to use my wheelchair to access the whole garden and not get stuck in the wet grass” Karen Lees “We will be able to learn how to grow fruit, look after it and eat it” Gill Penning “It will give us an interest and save us money by learning how to grow our own fruit and vegetables” Pat Humphreys “We will be able to develop the garden and feel proud of our efforts” Kerry Woolley

Paradise Sounds Project

PARADISE SOUNDS - The project will build on the organisation's current relationships with young people and their referring agencies by converting a vehicle into a mobile recording studio/training facility to take to schools, community groups, youth clubs and other charities, with a particular focus on children and young people who are facing barriers to education. The SOUNDBUS will also enable travel to specific pockets of deprivation within the locality to engage young people who would not otherwise have the opportunity to be involved in music and performing. Volunteers and sessional trainers will train them whilst a local annual charity music festival will be used to demonstrate their new talents to build their confidence. The organisation will involve young people in the decoration of the van so that it appeals to them. This is a new and exciting area of work for the charity which is needed in the area and will provide free facilities - studio time and equipment is costly which prevents many young people/children exploring their talents.

The Golden Jubilee Project

The project will renovate a care home for older people, specifically targeting those of BME groups, which in the past has run activities including keep fit classes in the small gym, walks, arts and crafts, as well as sing alongs. In addition, the new improved facilities will provide computer classes and set up a historical and social archive, which entails the local group developing, producing and showcasing short video files of anything of interest. The project will improve users physical health through fitness classes and shape up classes where they learn to eat properly. It will also improve their mental health by running and belonging to their own group, as well as socialising together.