Improved access to garden for Southport family

Community Link Foundation has provided funding for a Southport family to enable them to access their garden.

A grant has been given to the Varley family to make their garden more accessible for the mum who is a wheelchair user, and safer for her daughter who also struggles with mobility.

A mentor at Meols Cop High School applied for the grant on behalf of the family who live near school. Nichola Varley and her family have only recently moved to Southport and while the inside of the house suits the family, there were issues with the outdoor space.

Nichola was feeling quite isolated having moved to the town where she didn’t know anyone and then she also felt isolated in her home as she was unable to access the garden at the back of the house.

It also meant that when her children were playing in the garden, she was unable to supervise them. Her youngest daughter, Faye, who struggles with mobility finds it difficult and the uneven surface in the back garden was proving to be a hazard.

The garden was already grassed but the pavement access was tiny but as Nichola and her children love spending time in the garden together, Community Link Foundation agreed to provide over £2000 of funding to lay flags in the garden and build and plant wheelchair accessible planters.

The work has now been carried out and is already making an impact on their lives.

Faye said: “Before the garden was done, it was small, hard to move around and my mum could barely get in the garden. But now my mum has a lot of space to move and relax in the garden. She has easy transfer from the pavement/patio onto the grass. We have space for chairs, plants, seats and just more space for more fun. The new garden is great and will be used as much as possible. Thank you so much.”