(There is an application form for download at the foot of this page)

The "Friends of Felixstowe Seafront Gardens"  is an organisation formed to support the Suffolk Coastal District Council's application for a Heritage Lottery Fund Grant to refurbish and develop the gardens for the twenty-first century.

Open secret
It is no secret, as the notes about the History of the gardens tells us [on the "Latest News" page] that little more than minimum maintenance has been done for the last half-century and more.  The condition of much of the structural "skeleton" of the gardens betrays this, and the damage, in some cases deliberate and in others thoughtless - especially by children is making the task of maintenance difficult and in places a disheartening round of repairs, some of them repeated, always one step behind the latest damage.

Focusing concern
The "Friends" is determinded to be an organisation to focus the concern of every Felixstowe resident and of people who live beyond its boundaries but care about this heritage.  It aims to focus this concern in practical ways such as the successful morning's assistance with weeding, and to develop a partnership with Suffolk Coastal Services, the public body charged with the care and maintenance, and Suffolk Coastal District Council and the Town Council, and, of course, to support the actual bid in any way possible.

Need for partnership
In the present economic climate there cannot be an unending stream of public money, - unless there is to be a huge rise in local taxation - and so there needs to be a vehicle through which it is possible to harness concern and practical expression of that concern. 

Of course this concern will also issue in ways other than physical gardening, notably being a vehicle for fundraising for particular projects, and fostering public interest and exploring new ideas and suggestions. 

Need for innovation

Innovation is vital if we are to have a Felixstowe for the twenty-first century and the gardens will be a vital part of the appeal of such a town.  The tightening of belts and Holiday-in-the-UK philosophy plus the extra trains being laid on this year to Felixstowe by National Express for that reason all mean that the appearance of the town is a vital part of its regeneration out of the doldrums into something approaching an equivalent of its Edwardian heyday.

That's why ...

This is what the Friends of Felixstowe Seafront Gardens aims to be.



Application form click Here