National Lottery Funding Secured for Plot 4’s Wellbeing in Nature Programme

A Newport community allotment that has become a place of connection, creativity and wellbeing has secured funding from The National Lottery Community Fund’s Awards for All programme to expand its work over the coming year.

Based at Coldra Road Allotments and run by The Place Newport through Tin Shed Theatre Co, Plot 4 will use the funding to deliver a year-long Wellbeing in Nature programme, providing free opportunities for local people to improve their wellbeing through gardening, creativity, nature-based activities and community connection. The project will also introduce a dedicated Wellness Wednesday programme, offering outdoor creative wellbeing sessions for people recovering from illness or experiencing mental health challenges.

The funding will support a range of activities including weekly gardening sessions, creative wellbeing workshops, volunteer development, training, evaluation and improvements to the allotment space to ensure it remains welcoming, accessible and safe for participants.

The proposal was developed following extensive consultation with participants and volunteers, with the group identifying a growing need for more structured wellbeing-focused activities. The project builds on feedback from more than 70 community members and has been shaped directly by the people who use and value the space.

The successful application was supported throughout by myself in my capacity as Newport Community Development Officer. Over several months, the Plot 4 team worked diligently to develop their proposal, gathering evidence, refining their budget, strengthening the narrative and ensuring the project clearly demonstrated the difference it would make to local people.

Rather than rushing the process, the group took the time to build a strong evidence base and regularly checked in for advice and feedback. Through a series of conversations and draft reviews, the application evolved into a compelling, community-led proposal that clearly reflected local need and the positive impact Plot 4 is already having across Newport.

"Plot 4 is a fantastic example of a community-led project responding directly to the needs of local people. The team invested considerable time in developing their application, gathering feedback from participants, refining their plans and regularly checking in to sense-check ideas and make improvements along the way. Their commitment to getting it right resulted in a strong application that clearly demonstrated both need and impact. We're delighted to see them secure this National Lottery funding and look forward to seeing the project continue to grow."

Plot 4 has become much more than a community growing space. Participants have described it as a place where they feel safe, valued and connected, helping to reduce loneliness, build confidence and create a sense of belonging through nature and shared activity.

The funded programme aims to strengthen community relationships, improve a valued local green space, provide early intervention wellbeing support and help address the pressures many people are facing as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.

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Growing wellbeing opportunities at Plot 4

The funding will enable Plot 4 to expand its programme of nature-based wellbeing activities and continue creating opportunities for local people to connect with nature, creativity and each other.

Katie Keeble, the coordinator for Plot 4 and Wellbeing Creative Facilitator, is thrilled that the allotment and wellbeing projects can continue to grow and expand.

“We’re very excited about our plans for future sessions,” she said. “We welcome people to come along and hope they enjoy our community space as much as we do. “Our new project, Wellbeing Wednesdays, has potential to reach a wider community, especially those in recovery from health related experiences, so please, if you are interested, get in touch to find out more.”

Katie added that they were extremely grateful to the National Lottery Awards for enabling them to continue the weekly sessions at Plot 4, with a focus on wellbeing and community through new sessions that are about to begin.

“The funding has made so much more possible,” she said. “Many thanks are also due to Dan Coast. His continued support in helping us prepare and submit our funding bid was incredibly helpful and gave us the confidence to proceed throughout the whole process.”

Thanks to the National Lottery award, local residents can continue to enjoy free gardening and wellbeing activities every Sunday, alongside monthly creative wellbeing sessions inspired by nature, sustainability and the changing seasons.

For more information about Plot 4 and upcoming activities, visit The Place Newport website or download the flyer below

plot 4 flyer to prt (1).pdf

Download PDF • 8.17MB