30 Mar Community garden at Essex-based housing association’s Community Hub gets a makeover
Essex-based housing association CHP has opened a new green space at its Parkside Community Hub based in Melbourne Avenue, Chelmsford. The new garden comes after the Parkside Community Hub was awarded funding by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and NHS Property Services to improve the outdoor spaces at community-based centres.
CHP’s Parkside Community Hub has been working in partnership with the RHS to tailor the design of the garden space to make sure that it meets the needs of the community. Members of the Community Hub’s gardening club also helped to shape the design of the garden by sharing their ideas and opinions to make sure that it is accessible and sustainable.
The revamped garden contains fruit trees, vegetables, flowers and plants, bug hotels, and a kids’ den and has been made with accessibility in mind, so that wheelchair users can access the space.
Ashley Watson, CHP’s Community Investment Co-ordinator, said: “We’re really pleased that we’ve had the chance to have our garden professionally transformed. We’re grateful for all of the work from the RHS who made this possible and I’m excited to see the positive impact it’ll have on everyone who visits.”
Louis Langenberg, RHS Community Outreach Advisor, said: “Being involved at CHP Parkside has been a fulfilling and humbling experience. I have had the opportunity to meet and teach lots of local people, as well as helping them to realise their ambitions to create a garden they can use for years to come.”
The garden will be maintained by members of the Community Hub’s gardening club, as well SWas colleagues from CHP’s Grounds Maintenance Team. Any fruit and vegetables grown will be available for members of the gardening club to take home. Any surplus produce will be left in the community fridge, which is a communal fridge containing items of food that anyone from the local community can take what they might need for free.
Parkside Community Hub has a range of activities on offer at different times throughout the week, including benefits advice every Tuesday, IT drop-in sessions every Wednesday and a social Spanish class every Thursday. People can find out more about what’s on at the Hub via the calendar on CHP’s website www.chp.org.uk/whats-on
