Meridian (West) Projects

Meridian West transmits to nearly four million people living in towns and villages throughout Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Wiltshire and parts of East and West Sussex.

Over the past five years of the People’s Millions competition we have seen some great projects in the region. We have seen new sensory gardens, accessible playgrounds, an artificial caving complex, an IT centre, a mobile baby cafe, a climbing wall and many more.

Jake 'N' Lee Tadley Skatepark Refurb

The project will redevelopment the local skate park to provide a lasting monument following the death of two local young people in a car accident. By upgrading existng ramps, fencing and seating and installing new ramps and rails, the new skate park will appeal to all ages and skill levels. It will also provide a focal point and social hub for young people in a safe and friendly environment.

Icing on the Park

The project will pay for a synthetic ice rink with ice skates that will be hired out to other schools, community centre and halls on the whole of Hampshire, for families to use as a fundraising venture, an entrepreneurial opportunity or fun alternative activity. The organisation has twice hired an ice rink for the community in the past to resounding success. In owning one on behalf of the Community Improvement Partnership of Leigh Park, an area which the applicant states is of high deprivation, they would be able to offer skating all year round at different venues every week and in particular targeting those with no transport and limited income. The project offers an alternative sporting activity which is fun and exciting for all, promoting healthy living, encouraging children to achieve 5 times 30 minutes of exercise a week. This project encourages community involvement and cohesion, in addition providing an alternative to anti-social behaviour inceasing confidence in young people to participate in something new. Icing on the Park not only benifits the local community; an entire county will reap the rewards, the numbers who will be able to take advantage of and enjoy this fantastic facility are huge.

Christchurch Home Visiting Service

The project will create a home visiting service for older members of the community in Christchurch. The service will visit older people, offer them advice and make sure that they are applying for the benefits to which they are entitled. Paid staff will recruit and train volunteers to run the service.

Working Small Animal Farm

This very special project will create a small animal farm to increase the work and training activities Ferring Country Centre can offer. The farm will encourage adults with learning disabilities to develop their skills in animal husbandry and take responsibility for the welfare of the animals. The building work will involve local businesses, clients and staff, as well as volunteers from the local community. Clients of the organisation will benefit from enhanced social inclusion, being further enabled to undertake meaningful tasks, understanding the workplace, as well as obtaining a variety of social and practical skills. The project will also benefit the children and young adults with special needs who attend the riding therapy unit or use the centre for summer play schemes. The farm will provide an invaluable tool which will also benefit all those children, adults and their families who are able to visit, and will also be available to other establishments that would benefit e.g. schools, nurseries, day centres and other care establishments. The farm will improve the quality of life of both people with learning disabilities and all those who visit. In addition the project will allow access to the countryside and a farm environment to the local community, there will be no exclusions. It will offer greater choice ad opportunities to vulnerable adults and children, whilst offering animal assisted therapies which are known to have far reaching physiological and emotional benefits.

Hightown Studios

SoCo Music Project, working with Thornhill Plus You and NATS want to create an exciting music and media studio facility for the people of Southampton at the Hightown Youth Centre in Thornhill. The facility will be unique within the city, bringing professional quality music, video and radio production equipment to the community in a state of the art studio. A full programme of workshops and activities will be run for people across the city in areas such as live music, recording, music technology, film editing, internet radio, podcasting and much more, as well as providing valuable practise and learning space for the area. SoCo Music Project will work closely with Thornhill Plus You to ensure that the Hightown Studios project is developed and run as a true community facility. Jon Haughton from SoCo Music Project said, “this is a chance to provide a vibrant, multi functional studio to give young people and the wider community a unique place to be creative which can be used and enjoyed for years to come. We want to promote it as somewhere where all generations can meet and work together”. Matt Salvage also from SoCo Music Project said, “This is a fantastic opportunity for Southampton to have a top class media facility for use by the community. We’ve worked with some incredibly talented people in the city who would otherwise never get to the chance to use and be involved in what we hope to be an inspirational and exciting studio. We need viewer votes to make this project a reality”. The facility will also be home to a state of the art media learning suite featuring top spec Apple Mac computers for music production, video editing and graphic design.