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Cross Houses Community Garden

Cross Houses Community Gardens -

The project involved protecting an area of open space from development through using section 106 of the Town & Country Planning Act.  This allowed the local community to then develop a project in partnership with Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council, which involved bringing a derelict piece of land back into use as a facility for wildlife conservation, environmental education, green waste recycling and community agriculture.

Newly laid hedge at Cross Houses Community Gardens

Objectives -

  • The project aimed to safeguard an open space, which the community can utilise, for sustainable agriculture.
  • The project also aims to showcase the benefits of sustainable agriculture to the wider community and act as an educational facility to attract children and adults from all over.
  • The project also aims as core objective to benefit the wider environment and in so doing improve everyone's quality of life, now and for generations to come.

Background -

  • The former hospital site in Cross Houses, near Shrewsbury was sold by the NHS for housing development. The site has an important heritage value relating to the architectural and historic interest of the buildings and land of the former hospital, its gardens and the adjacent 18th century Atcham Union Workhouse. To the north, the open countryside along the site boundary accommodates Workhouse Wood and to the north-west is bounded by a tree lined brook adjoining Anslow Wood.

Partners -

The project is community led, and has been supported by Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council and Berrington Parish Council. Local housing developers Persimmon Homes, have helped a great deal and the project recently succeeded in securing funding from the National Lottery and the Shrewbury & Atcham Borough Council Community Initiatives Fund.

The community gardens now provide -

  • Facilities for members of the local community to grow their own, reducing the need for people and goods to travel.
  • Facilitates to compost green waste arising from the adjacent housing development, which will reduce the amount of waste landfilled.
  • Community Orchards to encourage healthy lifestyles.
  • Fully restored archaeological features which have historical significance such as the former well for the Old Hospital workhouse.
  • Restoring the well also reduced demand for mains water, and the aim is that water will be pumped using solar power.
  • The relaying of historic hedges and the planting of local providence at the site are preserving old skills and enhancing wildlife habitat.
  • The site will be used for largely organic and less intense agriculture, which retains historic agricultural techniques for future generations.

As part of the site development this parcel of land was transfered to Berrington Parish Council so that ownership would be with the local community.  If you would like more information on this project contact Ms. Cameron Moffet on 01743 761443.

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