Liz Robinson of the Palmers Green Action Team (PGAT) writes about the spring clean last month and the Team's future plans.
On the morning of Saturday 11th May, you may well have noticed something wonderful happening on our high street.... Dozens of members of our community in hi-vis jackets, joining forces to clean up Palmers Green and make our local area a more pleasant place to live.
The newly formed Palmers Green Action Team had had an idea, to clean the high street of stickers and litter and install potted trees and fresh planting outside shops. Our idea was met with enthusiasm and generous offers of support from local businesses like Anthony Webb, Papa Johns and Swirlz, plus Enfield Council.
We also took the opportunity to present to the community, our vision and suggestions for how the area could be improved and regenerated through an exhibition, and on the day of the Spring Clean it was standing room only as locals flocked to take a look at the ideas and also complete surveys on what they would like to see more of in PG.
A few doors down, in the newly opened Stitch!, local children were decorating paper tulips to be displayed in the windows of businesses.
Spring Clean in PG: Volunteers busy tidying up a rain garden at the Triangle
Meanwhile on the street, over 100 volunteers were picking litter from flower beds, scraping off stickers and generally getting their hands dirty in the name of community. The guides and scouts helped plant up a beautiful flower bed outside the Job Centre which we will all be able to enjoy for seasons to come.
So after such a positive start, what are the plans for PGAT going forward?
The regeneration exhibition is currently displayed in the window of the former Starbucks for a couple more weeks, so please do pop along and have a read if you’ve not had a chance as yet.
We have lots of ideas in the pipeline. We are speaking to local creatives and artists about commissioning some street art to brighten up the area, there are plans for more greening to take place and for a local litter picking group to be formed. We are also in talks with Enfield Council, feeding back the learning from the surveys conducted during the Spring Clean and also starting conversations about local issues such as alternative uses for empty units on the high street. So thank you to everyone who came out to show their support at the Spring Clean and has got involved to date.
Please follow PGAT on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates and we look forward to meeting more of you soon!
