Central Park in East Ham was a focus for three winners, including a plan to renovate the toilets in the park cafe to include a Changing Places facility.

The Changing Places toilet will have a changing bed, hoist, a toilet and sink at an accessible height, and enough room for a wheelchair user and carer to manoeuvre. It will assist people with special needs and those without and will help to make East Ham’s parks and open spaces more accessible. Funding will be for around £20,000.

Voters also backed a plan to combat anti-social behaviour in Central Park and will design a crime consultation to tackle the long term issues and to make the Park safer for everyone.

East Ham voters also supported plans for tiny libraries to be installed in the area.

A tiny library offers a safe place for books to be exchanged. People donate used books for children and adults to pick up for free. The project will hire a local carpenter to build and install libraries at three spots around Central Park.

Another park to get a makeover thanks to the ballot is Barking Road Recreation Ground which will see refurbishment and new play equipment installed.

The small playground is worn out and unsafe for young children and a project to replace the damaged climbing frame, roundabout and swings was supported. There will also be new attractions – including a zip line and seesaw and the walkway and cycling path will be upgraded. Up to £20,000 will be allocated to these improvements.

Young people get a boost thanks to two more winning projects. The Beckton Community Projects succeeded with their proposal to set up a youth club.

Local people born and bred in Beckton formed the Community Projects to rebuild some community spirit and have opened a youth club as a free service for Newham youngsters from seven to 18. So far 32 children have registered already. The project will build on the support from parents and local residents.

A Royal Docks Inclusive Community Hub project was chosen to provide food and centres, including two indoor and two outdoor cafes and free activities at St Mark’s Church, RDLAC (indoors Monday – Friday), at St John’s Green and at Royal Victoria Gardens including weekends.

The hub will help local residents meet both indoors and outdoors, to engage with wellbeing, learning and social events and activities or simply to relax. Examples of planned activities include yoga, tai chi, pilates, gardening, computer sessions, coffee mornings, local walks and art classes – all washed down with free refreshments, drinks and healthy snacks for participants!

Custom House Bookshop CIC also won support for its inclusive bookshop that will shortly open in the heart of Custom House. The bookshop aims to challenge the scarcity of books that reflect the diversity of Newham – for instance less than five per cent of children’s books published in Britain feature a disabled or non white character. In partnership with libraries, schools and local stakeholders, the bookshop will have regular intergenerational storytelling sessions and aims to improve literacy in the community. One of the many green projects to win support was the Cody Dock Community Forest Garden in Canning Town. The project aims to build a 70m long brick-lined Forest Garden along the public footpath that runs through Newham’s Lea River Park and Cody Dock. There will be fruit trees and wildflowers planted as well as heritage and ecology information and interpretation boards, seating and new street lighting.

The Youth Café project at the Garden Café Community Café project involves a partnership with Ascension Church, Royal Docks Academy and Shipman Youth Centre and was another vote-winner.

The café will be a safe and welcoming space dedicated for young people from Monday to Friday after school. Ascension Church will match funds to support one of the youth workers. The project will provide a hot evening meal for free for young people who may not receive this at home or do not have a safe space to be straight from school. The young people will have the opportunity to choose what they want to use the space for.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.