Welcome to BOST
News and information about Bankside Open Spaces Trust
From time to time everybody needs a little space. In the built-up streets, near London Bridge and Waterloo, the Bankside Open Spaces Trust works with local people to develop parks and gardens so they can relax, kick a ball, grow plants or just hang out.
BOST works closely with local people. We want to make sure improvement ideas are meaningful and meet local needs, so we consult the people who live in the area before a change is implemented made. For each of our parks and community gardens we support a local steering group to guide us in improvements, and we work closely with residents on estate grounds. This means that BOST’s work is very much about implementing a movement of change that is much bigger than just our staff and trustees.
We are a charity, run with the help of local people, Southwark Council is a major partner in much of the land we manage, and we also have generous support from businesses and many other partners. We rely on our Community Anchor Partnership with Blackfriars Settlement and Bankside Residents Forum to ensure we continue to provide the best for all our residents, and we are developing a strong relationship with Waterloo Community Regeneration Group.
We are proud to be a national exemplar of good practice in working with volunteers. We are also pleased of what we have achieved so far in our precious patches of green amongst the concrete and glass of Bankside. But there’s more work to do as you can see from the rest of this website. If you would like to help, financially or by giving some time, we would be happy to welcome you aboard.
Latest News
- Octavia Hill Anniversary
This year we have a series of plans to commemorate Octavia Hill who, amongst her many notable achievements, founded Red Cross Garden, one of the open spaces BOST manages. In 2012 we plan to hold a series of guided walks and to restore the bandstand, which once stood in the centre of her garden. We [...]
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- Diversity Garden
The new Diversity Garden has started on the ground! The design we have agreed will include some raised beds, a wildlife pond, edible hedge, mini meadow, and cherry trees. The main structure is being made for us by Durkan as part of the build of the flats and houses. They will hand it over to [...]
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- Marlborough Playground
BOST and local parents are currently working on a proposal to improve the Marlborough on Union Street with soft surfacing, a garden area, and additional facilities for sports and play. There is more information if you click here. We are working on a funding bid to achieve this, and held a consultation event on site [...]
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