Community garden to be opened to the public

1:00pm Thursday 4th September 2008

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AN oasis of calm is to have its gates opened to the public.

The new Thornbury Community Garden will be opened next weekend more than 18 months after its predecessor was closed and bulldozed.

The Thornbury Community Garden, is now located next to the Turnberries Community Centre, off Bath Road, and replaces the former award winning garden at Gillingstool.

Adrian Jones, project manager of the Thornbury Community Garden Group, said: "18 months ago South Gloucestershire, which owned the land the original garden was on, sold it for development and gave us this new patch at the Turnberries.

"As well as re-establishing the community garden part of the deal was that we would redesign and maintain the community centre's garden which is attached to the building, which is in itself quite a big project.

"Phase one has been to get the community garden open again. The land we were given was very over grown and to what we have now has been quite a transformation."

The new garden has been paid for through grants from South Gloucestershire, fundraising and the help from other Thornbury community groups. The Thornbury Community Garden Group estimates that so far the garden has cost £20,000.

During the last year the garden group, along with the Thornbury Compost Group, Thornbury Rotary, Thornbury in Bloom, have levelled the ground, cleared debris, rebuilt perimeter and inner walls, sewed grass and planted shrubs and perennials.

Mr Jones said: "We've achieved quite a bit already but there are still a few things we would like to do and it's dependent on fundraising, we would like to put in a water feature.

"We would welcome anyone to the garden and to join the project. If someone wants to be on the committee or just do two hours of gardening or just sit in the garden that is fine.

"What we want to do is let people know it is here and that is completely for the community to use."

For more information about the Thornbury Community Garden visit, www.thornburycommunitygarden.co.uk The garden, which is at the Turnberries Community Centre, will be opened next Saturday, September 13, (2pm).