York Racecourse Team "Gives and Gains" With Local Partners

Every year the team from York Racecourse donate a day of their time and expertise to support local partners.

In March 2026, thirty people helped both Brainkind and the Clements Hall Trust with outdoor projects that will improve the lives of residents.

At the neurological hospital, which is both a near neighbour and Local Community Partner of the track, the garden was given a major overhaul. The first task was to weed, prune and tidy the multiple flower beds and borders. Then over two hundred plants including roses, day lilies, sedum, lavender, fatsia and phormium were bedded into the rejuvenated space. In addition, the facilities team from the Racecourse built a series of wheelchair accessible raised beds to add further colour to this important space for the facility. Finally, the lawns benefited from their first cut of the Spring. Additional plants were left for the residents gardening club.

Clements Hall is an important community hub for South Bank and also serves as a base for Collective Sharehouse, who are another Community Partner of York Racecourse. With the promise of better weather ahead, the focus was again on improving the outdoor space. An overgrown hedge was given an extensive cut, overgrown weeds removed and the grass area that was revealed, given a fettle.

Speaking about the day, Fund Raising Manager at Brainkind, Richard Barwick said; “we already had a great relationship with York Racecourse as a Community Partner, this was another example of the support they have given us. Our garden is an important part of the services that we offer so it is terrific that it now looks so well. Everyone here is very grateful that we can now look forward to enjoying the plants, both new and old, in the months ahead”.

Reflecting on the work undertaken at Clements Hall, Linda Speidel said, “we longed for a useable outdoor space; however, our volunteers simply didn’t have the time or the equipment to undertake the herculean task of managing that hedge. After the efforts of the Racecourse team, we are left with a real asset for our summer programme of community events, just thank you.”

The Local Community Partners for the 2026/2027 season will be announced by the end of this month, regardless both Brainkind and Collective Sharehouse will continue to receive legacy partner support.