Thanks to some of Bedford’s Junior Street Champions, the play area in Milburn Road off Norse Road received a makeover on Tuesday 15 April.
To celebrate the second year anniversary of the Junior Street Champions, over 30 of the Junior Champions along with local children painted the brick wall that backs the play area with a colourful mural in the theme of ‘children at play’. They also painted some of the equipment in the play area as well as litter picking the local area too.
Councillor Sarah-Jayne Holland, Portfolio Holder for Community and Regulatory Services, said: “There are nearly 200 young people now involved with the Junior Street Champion scheme, all of whom are making a real difference to their local community and Bedford Borough.
“The Junior Street Champions have given the Milburn Road play area a new lease of life and really spruced up the play area in time for the busy spring and summer months!
“Any young people who are interested in getting involved with future events should get in touch as soon as possible as we have plenty of opportunities coming up!”
Jim Playle, bpha Community Officer, added: “The artwork the children have produced has transformed a drab, graffiti strewn wall into a colourful work of art. The aim was to brighten the area up and create a little bit of pride in the neighbourhood. I think we’ve achieved that and the children can be rightly proud of what they have achieved.”
The event was made possible thanks to support from BPHA Community Development Team who supplied all the paint and materials and Waitrose Community Matters Fund.
The Junior Street Champion scheme currently has just over 190 members aged between 5-16 years of age. The Borough Council run scheme encourages children to take an active role in their community, earning pin badges and taking part in community litter picks, planting and improvement events. At previous Junior Champions events they planted daffodil bulbs, litter picked and tidied in the Foster Hill Road cemetery grounds.
If you are interested in becoming a Junior Street Champion please contact the community Volunteering Team on 01234 718276 or email volunteering@bedford.gov.uk
