Bloxwich community garden brought back to life

Bloxwich residents have had their unloved community garden brought back to life with help from whg and Wates.

Wates used customers’ designs to transform the outdoor area at Central Drive Community Centre into a bright and sustainable garden as part of its Communities and Conservation week.

Over five days, and despite poor weather, Wates created trellises, benches, and planters, as well as painted the walls and relaid patio slabs.

The garden was designed following customer feedback at whg’s weekly coffee mornings, who said the space was wasted and mainly used by smokers.

It will give whg customers a place to meet, improve their mental and physical wellbeing, and create biodiversity in the area.

A newly formed gardening group will grow flowers and vegetables for use in the centre, and excess produce will be shared amongst customers.

Emma Parkin, whg Community Housing Officer for the area, said: “We maximise every opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives, and that includes working with our contractors to deliver real social value.

“Wates did an amazing job completing this project in less than a week, despite the weather conditions, and we now have a beautiful space designed by and with the customers in mind.

“We already have plans for flower arranging workshops, cooking sessions with home-grown produce, and pot upcycling during the colder winter months. There’s lots of things stemming from this garden that will add more value for the local community.”

Lorena Betts, a whg customer who drew the garden floor plan, said: “The space was grey and boring before, it looked like a prison exercise yard. This garden is a complete game-changer, it looks and feels so much better.

“Gardening is my life now. I loved working with my neighbours to design the garden and we chose all the plants and shrubs.”

Claudette Glave, Senior Liaison Officer at Wates, said: “Local residents really helped us by saying what they wanted and we tried to follow this to the best of our ability, to create a space that will last and continue to give back to the community.”

Communities and Conservation Week is an annual event where Wates’ staff use paid volunteering leave to support projects which help the local community, protect the environment and enhance sustainability.

The gardening group meets at Central Drive Community Room every Thursday 10am-12pm. Everyone is welcome.