The Simpson McCreath Trust has been thanked after pledging a sizeable donation towards the construction of a new community playground in the village of Tibenham, less than three miles from the company’s Tivetshall St Margaret maltings.
The Trust supported the project with a grant of £5,000 and, following a delay in its construction due to the COVID-19 pandemic, work was recently completed by Gressenhall-based business NGF Play Ltd.
With its range of the equipment, the playground is now being enjoyed by children aged three to 12 who live in Tibenham and its surrounding villages, with many coming down with their parents on the opening night to test out the new apparatus.
Speaking about the project, which also received financial backing from the Norfolk Community Action Fund, the Hall Management Committee and one anonymous donor, Tracy Allin-Baker – a local resident and parent who contacted The Simpson McCreath Trust about obtaining the grant – said: “We are so very lucky to have received funding from The Simpson McCreath Trust to help allow the construction of the playground to go ahead.
“There are no playgrounds in the surrounding two villages, so now having this to walk and cycle to rather than going in the car to the nearest playground is just wonderful. My children have already met at least two other children from the village that they might not ever have met before had the playground not been there.
“The grant has also meant that we’ve been able to provide an even wider range of equipment to cater for a larger age range – so we are incredibly grateful and thankful for the support.”
Richard Simpson, Trustee of The Simpson McCreath Trust and Vice-Chairman of Simpsons Malt, added: “The Simpson McCreath Trust exists to support a wide variety of organisations and projects close to our two UK maltings and when Tracy got in touch with us about the new community playground at Tibenham – a stone’s throw from our Tivetshall St Margaret site – we were only too happy to support it.
“We’re delighted with how the playground looks and that we’ve helped to play a part in it coming to fruition, while it’s also been great to hear how popular it has been with children in the local community since it opened last month.”
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