Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

A ‘neglected’ Doncaster estate bouncing back with big transformation plans is to hold a picnic in the park event and an “Olympics” to help bring the community together.

Clay Lane will be hosting the event on August 19 from noon with organisers The Friends of Clay Lane promising ‘a picture perfect day filled with sunshine, laughter, and the first annual Clay Lane Olympics.”

The event will take place in the park off Shackleton Road, which was recently given a makeover by local residents.

People living on the estate, which is sandwiched between Edenthorpe and Wheatley, have come together to help turn around the area’s fortunes, saying Clay Lane has been the victim of years of neglect.

Clay Lane is to host a picnic in the park and an Olympic style event.

Resident have launched their own action group, have staged meetings and have drawn up a list of proposoals to help turn around the 1950s built estate.

Organiser Alex Chadburn, who is one of the people behind The Friends of Clay Lane project, said residents are keen to throw themselves into a series of intiatives to transform the area including community gardens, projects – and an ambitious plan to bulldoze the estate’s derelict club and replace it with a community centre.

Said Alex: “This is the first time in years the community has come together in a positive way to talk about our estate and what we love about it.

"There’s a real buzz. We want to empower people to stand up and have their voices heard.”

The three key aims of the project are to protect an area known as the Bankings – a strip of grassland between the estate and the railway line which crosses Thorne Road, to create flood defences to protect the Jefferson Avenue and Wilberforce Road area and to demolish the former Explorer Clay Lane Club in Shackleton Road, which has lain derelict for years and has become a frequent target for arsonsists.

Once a haunt of hellraising film star Ollie Reed, in its heyday, the club attracted some of the biggest and best names on the cabaret circuit.

The Friends of Clay Lane wants to demolish the building and replace it with a community centre, while there are also plans to create a quiet community garden area.

More details about the group and its plans can be found HERE

'Neglected' Doncaster estate to stage Olympics and picnic in the park event