In 2022 a brand new project was initiated to turn the unloved Rectory garden into a beautiful Community Space, for anyone in the town to enjoy.
It is a long term project, and will ultimately be run and managed by volunteers, once the initial work has been completed to transform it back into a garden.
A lot of hard work has already been done, mainly to remove overgrown bushes and trees, and this was carried out by wonderful hard-working apprentices from Bakkavor, a local food company.
The vision is to have different areas of the garden to reflect differing needs. So, for example, one corner will be an area mainly geared towards children, with a playhouse, blackboards and a stepping stone trail, another area designed to be more of a quiet, peaceful area where you can sit quietly and enjoy the garden. There will be raised beds for growing vegetables and flowers that will be fully accessible to all, as well as a greenhouse, potting shed and compost bins and a sensory area.
There will be seating designed to fit around a wonderful old tree in the middle of the garden, and a new access will be made at the side of the garden, to include a covered seating area.
The start of the project
Other charitable agencies have helped with the project, as well as local Scouting groups, all on a voluntary basis. The Naturehood Project run jointly by Jackie Lane from Anglian Water and the Wildlife Trust have planted seeds and made bird feeders and built a bug hotel. The Mens Shed has helped with woodworking for the bug hotel, and Curo Social Enterprise, a local mental health charity has been involved with ongoing maintenance of the work.
All in all, an exciting new project, that will benefit absolutely anyone and everyone in many varied ways, whether that is with hard labour digging, pottering about in a greenhouse or just enjoying a relaxed peaceful atmosphere.
Bakkavor apprentices showing some of the tree stumps they had to dig out
