A MAJOR community effort has been underway to transform the appearance of Knowle Park, in Keighley.

Bangladeshi Community Association, (BCA) based in Kensington Street, started the scheme one year ago by conducting a survey and consultation to find out what residents wanted to see done in their area.

A BCA spokesman said: “We didn’t want to rush into executing a project when its outcome would be with us for such a long time. For it to be sustainable we wanted this to be very much community-led.”

A team from BCA, with support from residents, Bradford Council, Keighley Town Council and a variety of businesses and other organisations came together in the neighbourhood on August 2.

They began putting new plants into their first street planter, which is one of 46 planters in Knowle Park.

The spokesman added: “We also had other activities such as planter pebble decorating and a scavenger hunt.

“On the same day, to help get the youth involved, we held a football bin challenge which involves trying to kick a ball into a bin from a distance.

“We created a potage planter which has a mixture of edibles, perennials and evergreen plants.

“Our aim is to encourage residents to use the planter to grow their own crops while brightening up the area.

“In order to keep an eye out for vandalism and to take care of the plants we’ve appointed ‘street champions’ on each street from a diverse range of backgrounds.

“We did some street cleaning as well, and our project will support the council’s work to keep the area clean.

“It was a very successful day with at least 50 volunteers and many spectators. We had visits from Keighley town mayor Councillor Fulzar Ahmed and community activists who left us their words of wisdom and encouragement.

“We were also visited by people from Keighley in Bloom, and we have entered their annual floral competition.

“If anyone else would like planters renovating on their own streets in Knowle Park, we’d urge them to approach BCA with a list of volunteers from their street so we can look to offer them support.

“We do want more residents to take ownership and pride in their area.

“We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers and community activists who helped us. Without them we wouldn’t have been able to complete this pilot project.”