Friends of Bathampton Meadows Riverside was  formed to maintain the beautiful riverside space at Bathampton Meadows for its wildlife and visitors.

In 2014, Bath and North East Somerset Council installed a cycle path along the riverside of Bathampton Meadows.  However, no plan or budget was put in place to maintain the space. Realising the potential of the space, a Volunteer Group was formed and started to implement some key maintenance tasks.

The ‘Friends’ was born out of this volunteer group. As Peter Fear, a member of the group, explained: “Momentum was picking up and the Volunteers decided to formalise themselves into a Friends group with a bank account and begin fundraising. We had very little experience with fundraising and the opportunity to join Localgiving arose at the time we were considering how to raise funds. Localgiving was a perfect solution”.

In the absence of any funding from our Local Authority, the Friends are aiming to raise around £1,000 each year to ensure the beautiful riverside space is maintained for the benefit of the local community and the local wildlife. During 2016, the volunteers contributed over 500 hours. Plans for the future include ongoing maintenance, ecological surveys (open to the public), planting of trees and shrubs, creating areas for wildflowers, creation of a wetland and improvements to the hedgerows.