friendsforum

How do I ?

Report a problem
The Friends of parks and green spaces are our eyes and ears. As much as we would love to have the time to regularly visit each and every site, with 150+ parks and green spaces in our borough, it's just not possible, so we need your help. Click here to read more.

Create our own membership and/or business cards
If you would like to create a membership or business card for your group and/or members, one of the most economic methods for small qualities is to use a free template and pre-cut sheets from Avery available through every good stationers. To get you started, the blank Word template is available to download from the Useful documents section of this website.

Write a risk assessment
Planning for an event or activity will involve undertaking a risk assessment. The reason we do a risk assessment is to minimise the risk of injury to ourselves and others. Although it may seem a little daunting, you actually assess risk all the time in everyday life, often without realising. Click here to read more.

Arrange insurance
As a general rule of thumb, when Friends are working in the parks and other green spaces clearing up, planting and/or doing conservation work, although they are volunteers, they are considered to be unpaid employees of the London Borough of Bromley and are therefore covered by the Council employee and public liability policies. If the Friends wish to arrange their own community and/or fundraising event, just as every other hirer of a park or green space, they must ensure the members of the group are adequately covered against risks, such as, Public Liability. For more information click here

Plan an event
Planning an event in a park or green space requires the booking of venue and completion of a hirer check list which is available from the Park Services team via e-mail jean.edwards@bromley.gov.uk. A digital copy of the hire pack will be available to download from the Useful documents section in the near future.

Obtain a temporary event licence
To apply for a Temporary Event Notice you can print, complete and return the attached application form or contact us for the forms to be sent to you. The notes attached to the form identify certain restrictions which are placed on Temporary Events Notices and these are to be adhered to in every case. A Temporary Events Notice must be submitted at least 10 clear working days prior to the event. The cost of a Temporary Events Notice is £21.00.
www.bromley.gov.uk/business/licences/alcohol/temporary_event_notice.htm

Find funding for a project
There are many different ways to fund a project - a lot depends on what type of funding you are seeking, you could use sponsorship, grants, or even local council strategy money. To find out more - click here

How do I check our paperwork meets funders criteria?
Community Links Bromley not only provides access to funders information they can also check your book keeping/accounts and/or constitution documentation will meet funders requirements. Visit www.communitylinksbromley.org.uk for more information.

How do I tell the press?
Good Public Relations (PR) is just as essential for charities, voluntary
and community groups as it is for commercial businesses. Get it right
and your fundraising event will be a roaring success, your campaigns
will attract committed supporters and you will secure a distinctive
profile within your sector. Abbey has produced a free guide, download your free copy here.

Book the Friends promotion caravan
The Parks and Greenspace division is now a proud owner of a new promotional caravan - the Friends Caravan, which is available for Friends to use to help promote themselves at fete and fairs. To enquire about the availability of the promotional caravan and to make a booking, e-mail caravan@friendsforum.org.uk

Deal with litter
For a quick fix, report the problem to the Parks Service Response Team on 01689 862815 or even better, organise your own clear up. Speak to your Parks Partnership Officer for more information. If you're looking for something more long-term, try one of the following national schemes. CPRE has launched a new campaign: Stop the Drop, to tackle litter and fly-tipping. You can get involved by going online, joining a local litter group or signing up to Bill Bryson's newsletter.
www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/stop-the-drop/litter-and-fly-tipping/litter-take-action or join the LitterAction community - an online resource that supports people who take local action on litter - helping individuals and local groups organise clean-up drives and awareness raising activities in their local area.
www.litteraction.org.uk/

Build a website
The Community Website Builder allows registered UK charities, non-profit making organisations and volunteer led groups or organisations to build and maintain their own website free of charge. To find out more visit http://www.communitykit.co.uk/p_home.ikml

OR

Host a website
Many Friends Groups wish to communicate with their members and the wider community through the world wide web, but need a host. Through the Forum, the Parks and Greenspace division is able to offer a limited amount of space to host Friends Groups website's - circa 5MB each. If there is sufficient demand we may be able to look at purchasing additional services. The Parks and Greenspace division is also able to assist groups purchasing and setting up domain names and multiple e-mail accounts. Please contact hosting@friendsforum.org.uk for more information.

Compost green waste
Doing your bit for the environment couldn't be easier. Not only does the London Borough of Bromley offer curbside collections for recycling of paper, plastic and glass. Did you know you could compost much of your kitchen and garden waste? Click here to read more.