Bottesford's Friendly Bench receives lottery grant to expand project across England

The Friendly Bench, a community project in Bottesford, has received £240,000 lottery funding to expand its network across England.

Launched in March 2018 by Lyndsey Young, The Friendly Bench was created to tackle loneliness, social isolation and community disconnectedness, by using innovative social space.

They now plan to expand their network of ‘The Friendly Benches’ in Bury, Ipswich, Chester, East Rugby, Rotherham and Halesowen from March 2020, with further locations to follow within the next year.

Lyndsey said: “I created The Friendly Bench after suffering from loneliness and social isolation myself. Bringing together my design knowledge and experience of working on nature and wellbeing projects, The Friendly Bench was born.

“Being closer to nature, active social spaces and bringing people together is what it’s all about. By creating a free to use ‘outdoor living room’ in the community, it means it’s accessible and inclusive for everyone.

“Thanks to Lottery players we are partnering with groups across the country who share our values, understand the importance building social connections and can grow with us.”