Urban space man
HOW YOU CAN HELP THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING
CORAH’S St Margaret’s Works once covered acres of the centre of Leicester and employed thousands of people.
But after the company was bought by Coats Viyella in 1994, it was broken up and the factory closed, after more than 150 years.
Former urban explorer Matt Hassall paid a visit over a decade ago and these atmospheric shots are the result.
Matt, 37, of Thurnby, used to enjoy getting up at the crack of dawn to photograph the interiors of decaying factories and public buildings.
He said: “I remember being in the Corah one and it was huge inside and it was pretty easy to just get completely lost.
“The amount of machinery that was just left behind after it closed was amazing.
“You have to be careful going into these old buildings and watch where you tread.
“I was always very careful not to break anything or take anything or hurt myself – I didn’t want to be making work for the emergency services.”
These days, Matt said he has put his urban exploring behind him and prefers nature pictures and other kinds of landscapes.
A COMMUNITY hub and playground which has turned into a food bank during the pandemic says it has seen the number of people in need increase on a weekly basis.
Highfields Adventure Playground is one of nine playgrounds that has supported generations of families in the city, hosting summer play schemes and giving open access to daily activities, games and more for children between the ages of six and 16.
In the wake of the pandemic, the playground, in Spinney Hill Park, had to close its doors to the children who access its services, but has continued to support them by providing hundreds of food parcels to families.
Kevin Sherrif, the playground manager, said: “We know that families were struggling anyway.
“But in the pandemic, people have been furloughed and people have lost jobs, and some have been shielding.”
He said many households faced reduced incomes as a result of being furloughed, and people who were shielding were unable to access supermarkets.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the support of FareShare and Leicester City Council, the playgrounds were providing about 26,000 meals each year as part of the Holiday Hunger programme during school holidays.
They are in Highfields, Braunstone, Mowmacre Hill, New Parks, Northfields, St Matthew’s, Woodgate, Goldhill Spinney in Wigston and Thirlmere Gardens in the city centre, which is home to St Andrew’s Play Association.
Working closely with local people and schools for many years, Kevin said he knew some teachers had been planning to set up food banks and clothing banks in schools to support the number of children living in poverty.
In the UK, poverty is defined by the government as a household that earns less than 60 per cent of the national average.
“I know that before this, 35,000 children were living in poverty in the city, but only about 12,000 were accessing free school meals,” said Kevin.
“We noticed that children were coming to the playground hungry, and teachers saw that they were turning up to school hungry.” Kevin and the dedicated team which organises and distributes the food parcels has seen the numbers of beneficiaries increase throughout Leicester’s “particularly difficult” lockdown.
In the 50 years that the playground has run, the community it serves has stood together to fight for its place in the city when it has faced the threat of closure.
The past 12 months have only reinforced the paramount need for its services.
Come rain, shine and even snow, Highfields Adventure
Playground has continued to provide substantial food parcels to hundreds of families every week.
Maintaining strict social distancing rules, the parcels have been handed out from the playground’s outdoor set-up.
Kevin said: “Over the summer, in particular, the numbers went through the roof.
“It became a mammoth job and we have seen our figures increase each week. It has been upsetting to see people wait in the rain for food.”
This week, more than 370 parcels have been handed out, which will provide food to about 740 children.
Kevin praised FareShare not only for providing the food to Highfields Adventure Playground, but for ensuring the food is suited to all the needs of the local community.
In the East Midlands alone, FareShare redistributes surplus food to charities which provide a lifeline to about 933,178 people per week.
In what Kevin described as one of the most difficult periods for young people, he and the staff will continue to support the community and look forward to being able to reopen their gates.