Who are the Friends? The Friends of Agnes Riley Gardens are a group of local people who give their time freely to improve Agnes Riley Gardens for the benefit of people living and working in the area, and for the park to be enjoyed by the whole community. The Friends have done a lot of work in the park, which has included
working with the Council on how the park should be maintained – within the resources available, as well as consulting with the Council around new investments to improve the park.
Children’s playground – This has recently benefited from such investments, with some new equipment being installed. The consultation process involved the Friends speaking to park users; children, parents and carers, as well as visiting a local primary school and the parks One O Clock Club, about the type of new equipment they thought would make a good addition to the playground. The new equipment has now been installed and it is clear to see that the children are enjoying using it. Some of the old equipment remains, such as the helicopter and the swings, which were given a new coat of paint. The helicopter has become a bit of a landmark, with many generations of children being able to enjoy this piece of play equipment.
The Friends have conducted a similar consultation for a new SplashPad in the playground, which will replace the current paddling pool which had been re- opened in 2018. The paddling pool was a big project at the time and has been much appreciated by local children and carers, seeing great use through the warmer months -June to September. This meant volunteers from the Friends turning up every day to fill and empty the pool and cleaning and checking it to make sure it was safe to use. It is exciting that the new Splash Pad will be installed this month, March 2024, and will be operational by mid-May 2024. The volunteers from the Friends will be needed again to help maintain the SplashPad, by making sure the drains and surfaces remain free of debris on a daily basis. We always need more volunteers for this to lighten the load for the existing ones.
We are also at the early planning stages of a consultation period around the depot buildings at the Atkins Road end of the park. Previous talks with the community and residents expressed a want for a café in the park. The Council are now looking to invest in such a project, and we will be in touch with the local community very soon to invite them to have some input in this consultation. So, watch this space!
Other improvements at Agnes Riley Gardens have included some new gates in the park – at the Poynders and Atkins Road entrances and a smaller one to the community garden. Way back in 2008, the Clapham Park Project (CPP) held a competition for local children to design new gates for the park. The winning design was published in CPP’s magazine, Park Life, but that was as far as it got at that time
due to lack of funds preventing these designs becoming a reality. This recently changed when after financial contributions were made by developers to the Council – as part of the planning process meaning the gates were finally made and installed! We feel that they are all a great improvement on what was there previously. And we are grateful to whoever designed them – please tell us if you know who it was!
The Friends have been very keen to improve biodiversity in and around the park, which has involved collaborating with projects such as Frog Life, Bug Life and Bee Roads. There have been many events held to achieve this goal, including educational events for children and adults, encouraging us all to play a role in helping our planet.
The Nature Pond –
There is a hive of activity in the nature pond with amphibians and other species of wildlife enjoying this space. Children love to see the tadpoles and frogs during the different cycles of the Frog Life and it is great way for them to witness the beauty of nature on their doorstep. In addition to this wildlife, in recent years, we have been fortunate to see some ducks making use of the pond. Agnes Riley Gardens has been awarded some funding from the Blue Chain project which will help make improvements to the Pond’s wildlife. In addition, the Friends are consulting with the Council to replace the board walk around the Pond which is looking dilapidated and unsafe in some areas.
Last year, the Friends worked with the Council to deliver a Grow Back Greener Project which saw the creation of a rain garden as well as Frog life events educating people about the wildlife in the pond and the park.
Amenities – We have been working hard over the past few years, lobbying the Council to get the toilets re-opened and functioning again. You may have noticed that one of the toilets is now back in use. We have also been in consultation with the Council to get the Water Fountain back in operation.
Events – The Friends organise many events in the park. These include our annual Autumn Fair, as well as seasonal events such as Meet Santa, in December, also Hallowe’en pumpkin carving and Treasure Hunts events. These events help draw more people into the park, get them involved in their local community, as well as to raise funds for our activities and projects.
A big part of the activities of the Friends group is the running of the community garden near the Poynders Road entrance to the park. You can read more about the community garden here.
Friends of Agnes Riley Gardens 