Wasteland Turns Into Garden Oasis

A consultation between local residents and school children led to The Arkwright Meadows (AMC) taskforce being set up.  Their vision was to develop a section of land and create an educational horticulture project that also provides a recreational facility for the surrounding community. 

A disused are of land was identified that was being used as for fly-tipping which not only looked unsightly but was adjacent to two inner city schools and was becoming a health hazard.  The AMC secured a Creation Grant from the Countryside Agency and got to work on changing the dumping area into useable land.

Working with the local council and nearby schools the AMC drew up design ideas for the garden, but they recognised they needed some support.  After approaching Nottinghamshire ProHelp the AMC were matched with ProHelp member architects Fellows Hallat and following on from this legal support was needed to formalise the agreement with the Countryside Agency.  Legal ProHelp member firms Nelsons and Edwards Geldard provided the necessary assistance to negotiate the terms of the agreement and set up the limited company.

The project has also benefited from support provided by Nottinghamshire Cares. Companies including Capital One, Eversheds, Gala Coral Group and Marks & Spencer, have provided volunteers and donated goods to help with some of the physical regeneration of the garden. 

To date, 69 volunteers have provided nearly 400 hours of support to the project. They worked along side local school children, planting bulbs, hedges and trees. Groups of employees have given their time, manpower and enthusiasm to help create the garden and support their local community.

The AMC committee has ensured that the local school children are regularly involved in the development and, in the longer term, expect the School to run educational horticultural classes and projects within the garden.

Anita Wakefield, employed by the committee as Finance & Administration Worker said “ The assistance provided through ProHelp has been pivotal to the project. We would not have got this far if we hadn’t had that help”.