The Lower Green Community Centre racecourse partnership played a prominent role throughout this year’s activities at Sandown Park, where a series of joint community initiatives helped provide vital support to families living around the track. The collaboration highlighted how a major sporting venue and a local support hub worked together to address needs that often remain hidden behind the area’s well-known affluence.
Located just beyond the railway line behind Sandown Park, the Lower Green Community Centre served as an essential point of support for many households. While Esher and the wider Elmbridge region were considered among Surrey’s most affluent areas, the centre continually engaged with families facing real financial strain. Staff described how long-standing pockets of social housing sat within view of the grandstand, offering a very different picture from the racecourse’s celebrated landscape.
The partnership grew steadily in recent years, particularly through the Christmas Gifting Programme staged during the Betfair Tingle Creek Festival. Sandown Park invited racegoers to donate presents during one of its busiest fixtures, and the response consistently delivered several carloads of gifts for distribution to families known to the centre. The initiative eased seasonal pressures for many households, allowing them to receive items they could keep or share with relatives. The centre reported that the donations provided a meaningful lift to the same families they supported year after year.
The collaboration extended into the summer, when retired racehorses, arranged through trainer Sara Bradstock, visited the recreation ground outside the community centre. Children and families enjoyed meeting the horses, creating a positive shared experience supported by the racecourse. This programme did not involve financial contributions but offered valuable engagement and strengthened the bond between the two organisations.
Sandown Park also helped raise funds through the Elmbridge Community Fund, introduced during the racecourse’s 150th anniversary celebrations. Guests and staff completed 150 laps of the track to launch the initiative, with money collected throughout the year supporting charities across the borough. The Lower Green Community Centre expected to apply for grants from the fund, further linking its work with the venue.
This year marked the final Christmas appeal overseen by Jenny French, Community Projects Manager, who prepared to retire after long service in her role. She expressed confidence that the relationship between the centre and the racecourse would continue to develop under Centre Manager Cathy Evans. Staff at both organisations viewed the Lower Green Community Centre racecourse partnership as an example of effective local collaboration that delivered tangible benefits to families who needed consistent support.
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