Grapes Hill Community Garden

Project: To turn a disused concrete space into a community garden. Grapes Hill Community Garden aims to bring together people living in the area, one of the top 20% most deprived areas in the country, encouraging them to get involved to help turn the site into an area of beauty for the whole community to use.

Project Model: Non-incorporated Association

Visionaries for the project: Fran Ellington, teacher, and Jeremy Bartlett, botanist.

Previous Experience: No experience of starting a community project before.

Status of Project: Success! After many grant applications and fundraising, the area has been transformed into a community garden.

Time-span: From when the group was formed, it has taken two years to secure funding and start work on the garden.

Main obstacles: Time constraints.

Funding status: Received from Big Lottery Community Spaces (£50,000); Respect, a Government grant (£9,400); Norfolk Community Foundation (£2,000); John Jarrold Trust (£250); BRT (£25,000); Co-op (£500).

Community support for project: High community support and involvement.

How did it start?
From the beginning, Fran Ellington thought there must be a better use for this area. She tried to find out who owned the land. Notices appeared on the site from the council saying that it might be sold off to a developer. Fran and local residents asked if they could buy sections of it instead. They were told it had to be sold as one block, and so Fran and other residents then set about forming a group so that they could buy the land for the community.

To start with they held an informal meeting, which they invited local residents to, to find out what people wanted. Soon after that the first formal meeting was held, attended by BTCV ( British Trust of Conservation Volunteers) which proved pivotal to the group’s success.

Eventually a committee of seven was formed, none of whom knew each other before, but all of whom lived in the local community near to the proposed garden.

How was community opinion sought?

After the first formal meeting, the group put notices up on the site explaining what the proposal was and asking for input through 100 questionnaires. They held a community awareness day on the proposed site, inviting people to come along for food and find out more about the proposal. A local artist did an artistic impression of the garden which was used to ask people for input on the design.

A key part of this project has been the ability of the group to network and draw on the talents and skills of local people and companies. Many different people have offered to help. The core committee do the bulk of the work, but other people have offer bits of help here and there, including lending equipment.

Networking and keeping their noses to the ground has been important for finding out about funding, grants and other opportunities too.

Who did they go to for advice and support?

Early on Fran contacted her local councillor, who gave her useful contacts at the council. Key to the group’s success has been their Community Engagement Officer, Emma Penfold, who has given the group toolkits, books and information on grants and other organisations that could help.

The group also went to Voluntary Norfolk for advice, where Marion Wright, a Development Officer, pointed them in the direction of Seamless Support (affiliated to the Guild), who gave free legal advice from trained lawyers, on their constitution, and offered financial advice too.

Pro-Help were also useful, as they were able to the group in contact with local businesses that will help for free. Through them, they had help from a lawyers firm about the lease. An architect also helped at reduced rate.

The group also linked up with like-minded groups like BTCV, Norwich Community Green Gym, Transition Norwich, and the Green Party. They also had a variety of help and sponsorship from other community organisations or businesses such as local pubs.

Many different local organisations have lent equipment, including NEAD, Inner Space and Voluntary Norfolk, and businesses such as Reads Nursery, dd Health and Safety Supplies, Mousehold Garden Centre and The Secondhand Tool Company, have supplied reduced rate tools and plants.