New residents group for Telford housing estate

New residents group for Telford housing estate

The Priorslee Residents’ Association was formed in response to residents’ requests to organise local community activities with the principal objective of creating community cohesion which will become increasingly important as families move into new housing developments in the area. In October 2022, residents wanted a Christmas Fayre so Rachael Tyrrell and Paul Thomas, who run the c4000 member Priorslee Social Media group set about launching the Priorslee Residents Association.

“Our first challenge was to find a venue as there is no community centre in Priorslee” explained Rachael. “We also needed to create an Association governed by a constitution to obtain Public Liability Insurance, open a bank account, to fundraise and apply for grants to enable us to achieve our objectives.”. As Paul also explained, “We received excellent advice and invaluable support from Telford & Wrekin Council Officers to guide us through the documentation process”. The Association was formally created at the end of October with Rachael and Paul being joined by Samantha Lane, a Member Pioneer of the Co-op, as Secretary and Cristina San Martin as Treasurer.

From a standing start, in just a few weeks, with no funding and by loaning equipment, the Association managed to deliver the Christmas Fayre, with the support of the Priorslee Flaming Grill who provided the venue and a centrepiece Christmas tree provided by Lakeside Plant Centre. The Fayre was a great success with almost 30 stallholders, raffle, tombola, live band and Santa’s grotto.

However, to enable the Association to achieve its long term aims, it was essential that the Association was able to generate the funds to do so. With the support of Council Officers, the Association was, therefore, very pleased to receive a Start-up grant of almost £1,700 from Telford & Wrekin Council which will enable it to purchase its own equipment to provide the events and activities residents have been asking for. The Association has already started planning events and agreed venues for 2023 including guided walks, Summer and Christmas Fayres and are considering many other community activities such as Spanish for holidays workshops, and a family fun run.

As the Association is run by a team of volunteers and its events and activities increase, it would welcome new members to help organise and participate in the range of activities it is planning. The Association can be contacted by email at priorsleera@gmail.com.