News / avonmouth
Avonmouth community group named best in country
A community group which walks more than 20 miles every year to hand out almost 2,000 gifts at Christmas has been named as the best in the country.
Avonmouth Projects Group, which started off as an idea to plant a Christmas tree in a local park, has won the Community Group of the Year category in the Nextdoor Good Neighbourhood Awards 2021.
The group provides year-round lighting in Avonmouth Park, and is known for its annual Santa sleigh tours around north Bristol.
is needed now More than ever
The lights between the trees in Avonmouth Park proved so popular in Christmas 2014 that they are now lit all year round. Photo by Avonmouth Projects Group
Group director Ian Smith says it is “a nice boost to say we are an award-winning group.”
“What we do brings smiles to kids’ faces, that’s why we do it,” he said.
Ian recalls that last year’s sleigh tours in Avonmouth, Lawrence Weston, Shirehampton, Sea Mills and Coombe Dingle were particularly busy, with everyone at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Because of social distancing, people were lining the streets. It looked like there were hundreds there,” he added.
“So many people came out we had to stop at a Co-op – dressed as donkeys and things – to get more gifts.”
Avonmouth Projects Group volunteers with Santa on his sleigh. Photo by Avonmouth Projects Group
Funding and volunteer numbers permitting, the group hope Santa will be back again this year, but their ambitions do not stop there.
They have taken a long-term lease on land near the Portway which they hope to turn into a community woodland. It will also be home to their 36 ft synthetic ice rink, which they aim to open over Christmas this year.
Mary Milton is reporting on Sea Mills as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a pilot project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media
Main photo by Avonmouth Projects Group
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