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Gardeners in a County Durham village are getting new opportunities to keep enjoying their hobby thanks to a four-figure grant from a renewable energy firm.
The Middleton St George Allotments Association is responsible for the management and upkeep of 127 allotments across three sites in the village, ranging from single small beds to 300 square metre plots.
The Association had been looking to build a number of new raised beds on a patch of land behind the village pharmacy which would enable local people with disabilities or mobility issues to continue enjoying their hobby without having to bend down as much as they otherwise would.
After applying to the community fund linked to OnPath Energy’s nearby Moor House Wind Farm, the Association has used a £4,000 grant to clear the land and build eight, four metre-long raised beds from heavy duty, waterproofed timber sleepers that have been lined and filled with topsoil and compost.
The area around the beds has been fenced and concreted to allow easy access for wheelchair users, while storage has also been provided to give gardeners a place to put their tools and equipment.
Each of the beds has been allocated to a local gardener, with the Association receiving lots of positive comments from the new tenants on the difference the beds have made to their enjoyment of their hobby.
OnPath’s generous grant has helped us create a new community asset that’s going to provide more opportunities for local people for many years to come.”
The Allotments Association took over responsibility for the village’s allotments in 2012 and manages the tenancy agreements that allotment holders sign, as well as the general upkeep of the three areas.
The allotments won a Gold Award in the Special Allotments category at the 2023 Northumbria in Bloom awards.
Association secretary Les Foggett: “The area behind the pharmacy had featured raised beds in the past, but it had become a bit of a mess and needed a fair bit of work if we were going to bring it back into use.
“With many of our members being older or retired, the need to offer these types of raised beds that those with mobility problems or disabilities could access easily had been growing.
“OnPath’s generous grant has now helped us create a new community asset that’s going to provide more opportunities for local people for many years to come, and the response we’ve had from our tenants to their new beds has been really positive.
“We couldn’t have undertaken this project without OnPath’s support and we’re really grateful that funding from the Moor House Wind Farm Fund has helped us deliver it.”
Lynsey Stephenson, communication manager at OnPath Energy (formerly Banks Renewables), adds: “Everyone knows how beneficial spending time in the open air doing things that you love can be for your mental health and well-being, and the Allotments Association’s work towards making this possible for all their members is very impressive.
“Improving the facilities available to people living in the areas around all our wind farms is a key objective for their respective community funds, and it’s great to see how revenues generated by the Moor House Wind Farm are doing just that in Middleton St George.”
Environmental and community projects in the vicinity of the Moor House Wind Farm which are interested in applying to its Community Fund should first contact the fund manager via apply@onpathcommunityfund.co.ukor on 0191 378 6342 to confirm that their group or project is eligible.
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