Hutchison Neighbourhood Garden

Through the community and greenspace surveys we carried out in 2019, we identified a preferred site for the development of a Neighbourhood Garden for Hutchison. There are several potential sites in the estate, but this site is particularly well suited due to its size, location, solar aspect, and being over seen by a ring of tenements.

The site is an area of greenspace managed by the council within a ring of tenements between Hutchison Medway, and Hutchison Avenue. The site can be accessed by a path on Hutchison Medway.

The Neighbourhood Garden would include a large community shed which will support the garden but also community greenspace projects across Hutchison, and provide a location for other community activities. There will be up to thirty five raised beds which could be managed individually by growers, or as a group. A community orchard will be planted around the perimeter of the garden. The fence around the site will be renovated with gates installed (if households want them) so that residents living around the site could access it directly.

We conducted surveys of the surrounding residents in 2020 & 2023 – the majority of the responses came back positive. Planning permission was applied for and granted in 2023.

Residents are now working alongside a community gardener to build the raised beds, paths and surrounding forest garden. Growing Youth will build the community shed over the next school term.

Edible Estates have developed similar neighbourhood gardens in similar sites at Magdalene and Lochend.