Near Neighbours supported Stopsley Community Garden in Luton is officially open now.
Rachel Hopkins MP for Luton South and Mayor of Luton Cllr Mahmood Hussain opened the garden on a sunny afternoon on Saturday 26th June 2021.
It was amazing to see 150 people turn up to support the garden official opening event. There were cakes, games, sunflower planting and lots of friendly people to chat with. Everyone had a lovely afternoon together.
Part funded by Near Neighbours Programme, Stopsley Community Garden Project has born out of the Stopsley and Putteridge community survey which took place three years ago. One of its findings was that people wanted to have more of a community feel within the Stopsley and Putteridge area.
Stopsley Baptist Church owns this piece of land next to The Greenhouse in St Thomas Road, which had been lying idle for more than 10 years. This wasteland now gets around 30 visitors a day.
The church hopes that the whole community including schools will use this garden and the vegetables and fruit grown in the garden can be shared with people who need it.
Research has shown the benefits of having a community garden.
Stopsley Community Garden will also provide a place to relax, a way to engage with nature, a spot to meet with others and to get active outdoors. It will bring people together of all ages, races and cultures.
This is a community focused, volunteer-led project with the aim of creating an outdoor space with seating space, a play area, vegetable patches and more – a space to be used by everyone in the area.
A GoFundMe page was set up to raise money for 120 paving slabs and materials to go under a pergola as well as creating a pathway. The Church and all the volunteers thank everyone for their valuable donations.
To find out more about it: https://www.facebook.com/Stopsleycommunitygarden
The Mayor of Luton Cllr Mahmood Hussain with MP Luton South MP Rachel Hopkins opening the gardenCredit: Christopher Young
