A community fun day that keeps on getting “better and better”

Wednesday 11th September 2019

The Kilnwood Vale Community Fun Day is one of many events that residents, friends, families and local businesses look forward to each year. Last year’s event welcomed 300 residents and this year, as the Kilnwood Vale community continues to grow, we’ve exceeded that again with 500 people turning up for a day filled with family activities and fundraisers.

Coconut shy to teddy tombola

Organised by Anna Grimshaw, Preim’s community mobiliser for the West Sussex development, the fun day on Saturday, 21 July saw over 30 stalls from local charities and businesses – including a local cake stall, teddy tombola, raffle, a coconut shy and guess the number of balloons in a car (sponsored by Vines BMW). Hepworth Brewery, was a popular returnee from last year’s event with residents enjoying a pint or two from the local brewery.

Residents took part in a mini dog show and proudly showed the sunflowers they had been growing all summer – in the hope theirs would be crowned the tallest! Rocking Horse, Holmbrook Animal Rescue and Sussex Search & Rescue were nominated by residents as the charities to be supported through donations at the event.

The community and organisers would like to say a huge thank you to the master developer behind the Kilnwood Vale development, Crest Nicholson, for their contribution supporting the event, along with developer, Taylor Wimpey, and Preim. The donations made and time invested into this event demonstrate how integral resident engagement is to the success of this sustainably built and community-focussed development.

A shining example of community engagement

Anna’s role, as a Preim employee at Kilnwood Vale, is specifically to help support residents make the most of their community and the amenities within it. By organising events like this summer fun day, Anna has pulled together local businesses, to showcase all that is on offer in West Sussex, and provided residents with an opportunity to ask questions, meet their neighbours and enjoy the green spaces that make the Kilnwood Vale development unique.

One resident said: “every year the event is getting better and better”, another said: “Awesome day had by all. Well done Anna Grimshaw – another fair in the bag!”

These comments are testament to the important role our community mobilisers play in new developments – you can learn more about their responsibilities and why we see them as such important additions here.

We eagerly await the next community event for Kilnwood Vale – and hope the sun shines just like it did on the 21st! In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about Preim’s unique and well-founded approach to community engagement, click here.