The work on the new community garden in Wright’s Walk, the Ellenor Fenn Garden, is almost complete and it’s due to open on Saturday 11th September. There will be a short opening ceremony at 11.00am followed by activities for children and complimentary refreshments available in the Baptist Church garden nearby. Everybody is welcome to come along and help celebrate this special event.
Landscape gardeners EG Grounds Care have been working on the site in Wright’s Walk for the past 10 weeks. Matthew Jervis, Director said “We often get people stopping and chatting to us about the garden and now they can see it, interest has increased even more!”
The East Angles Brass Band will be entertaining the audience before and after the opening ceremony. There will be unveiling of bee, bird and hedgehog boxes, and a large children’s blackboard in the wildlife area. Member organisations from the aboutDereham Partnership will give out information on their groups and activities. There will be storytelling and arts and crafts for children. Joyce Miller, a popular figure in the town will be treating us to the reading of a poem she wrote recently and some of the kind plant donors will do some planting. Whilst there’s lots of outdoor space in the area, please be mindful of social distancing.
Keep a look out for two exhibitions in the old M&Co shop window, Dereham Heritage Trust will have a display about Ellenor and her husband John Fenn and there will be a photographic display of the garden’s journey from start to finish.
It’s been a real community effort creating the garden. Mike Webb, Chairman of the aboutDereham Partnership said “We’ve had lots of donations for the garden including the building and painting of wildlife boxes, planters and plants, signage, balloons, people giving their creative skills in design, many hours of research and planning, yarnbombing exhibits and much more, it’s been a great job all round.”
Cllr Paul Hewett, Executive Member for Property and Projects at Breckland Council commented “The transformation of small wasteland into a pleasant and tranquil place to visit and hold outdoor community events has been truly amazing. The garden has multiple uses, which includes accommodating marquees, hosting performances and market stalls, which will help boost footfall in the town centre and business for local retailers. I’m delighted that Breckland’s investment in this project will promote the town centre and help our community to thrive, and look forward to seeing residents enjoying this wonderful space for many years to come.”
The aboutDereham Partnership will oversee the events planned for the garden and Dencora will be responsible for booking and scheduling. If you or your community group would like to hold a small event in the garden, please contact Debbie Middlebrook at Dencora on 01603 433100.
(Source: Breckland Council)
