GREEN campaigners have received £4,026 in donations to help transform a Rawtenstall beauty spot.
Incredible Edible Rossendale (IER) is to convert a disused animal enclosure, in Whitaker Park, which closed in 2011 as part of council cuts, to a family picnic area.
Through Spacehive, a crowdfunding website created specifically for civic projects, the team raised the funds in four months.
Paul Scott-Bates, chairman of IER, said: “I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone that pledged. We’ll be starting plans very soon.”
The group, which boasts 180 registered volunteers, received a kick-start for the project from insurance firm Experian, which donated £2,000 to the scheme.
The group will now turn the ‘eyesore’ into a community fruit orchard and family picnic area, and is calling on residents to help out.
The park is the site where IER created its first community garden, which was described as ‘outstanding’ in last year’s North West In Bloom awards, organised by the Royal Horticultural Society.
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