NHS COMMEMORATIVE GARDEN PLANTED AT OLD HOSPITAL GREEN

A team of volunteers led by Newbury Town Council has planted a commemorative garden at Old Hospital green, Andover Road. The green space, which is home to the ‘Binary Conversation’ sculpture, was chosen by the Council’s Green Spaces Working Group for the new scheme.  Herbs, shrubs and plants, widely known for their medicinal qualities, were planted and the garden is dedicated to the NHS.

The scheme was designed by local resident, volunteer and garden designer, Fran Lawton who said, “The idea of a medicinal garden on the site of the old hospital was a very natural decision.  To keep up with this theme the layout of the garden was inspired by antibodies.  The inherent shape of the antibodies allows the immune system to recognise millions of different antigens to defend and protect the body”.

An interpretation board will be erected shortly highlighting the plants & their medicinal uses.

Throughout the year there will be a need for watering, weed management and, at the appropriate time, for clipping and cutting back the growth. An initial ‘weeding & care day’ will be held on Sunday 6 June and anyone interested in helping to maintain the garden should contact our Parks & Open Spaces Officer, James, Heasman at the Town Council (james.heasman@newbury.gov.uk) who will be seeking volunteers to form a Community Group in the future to help care for the garden.

The maintenance of the plants will be strictly controlled, and we would discourage access to these plants without suitable supervision. The properties and use of any herbal plant need to be correctly understood.

Earlier in the year, Newbury Town Council requested the views of local residents with regards to a plan to plant an NHS Commemorative garden at Old Hospital Green, on Andover Road.

We received a good response to the consultation and would like to thank those who took the time to submit their views.  The majority of the responses received were favourable and supported the idea of marking the past year with the planting of the proposed garden.

We are pleased that the planting of the garden has now taken place with a number of volunteers helping on the day to support the project. The volunteer planting day was carried out with strict social distancing guidelines and was a great success.

Cllr Martin Colston, Leader of the Council said, “We are pleased to have been able to commemorate the NHS in this way, by remembering the past year and the continuing work being done throughout the pandemic. The garden is open for everyone to see, and we will be looking for volunteers to continue to support this project in the future”.

Contact:

Cllr Martin Colston, Leader of the Council, martin.colston@newbury.gov.uk 01635 36591

David Ingram, Community Services Manager David.ingram@newbury.gov.uk 01635 780208

James Heasman, Parks & Open Spaces Officer james.heasman@newbury.gov.uk 07775 434475