19 August 2020 – Newquay Town Council have awarded funding to a local CIC group to transform land behind Polwhele Road in Newquay into a Community Garden.
Two parcels of land located off Polwhele Road in Newquay were transferred to Newquay Town Council from Cornwall Council as part of a Section 106 agreement to provide a public open space for the enjoyment of the public. The Council was keen to progress the area as a useable public open space with a focus on low maintenance and sustainability. Agro-ecological Urban Micro Farming CIC has now been awarded the contract to transform the area into a small garden that can be used by the local community.
Agro-ecological Urban Micro Farming is a new start-up Community Interest Company that was created by the community of Treloggan in response to encouragement from Newquay Town Council’s Footpaths, Bridleways and Open Spaces Committee to create a business plan to help manage and enhance communal green spaces in Newquay for the benefit of people and the wider environment.
Their Community Garden will feature accessible footpaths, a variety of plants and trees genetically and aesthetically related to Newquay, bee forages and herb harvesting, fruit trees, shrubs and herbaceous ground to supply people and wildlife with fresh food, ponds to act as a water supply for the site but also beneficial to wildlife, a wildlife corridor, self-pick berry rows, and an urban garden area incorporating elements such as benches, raised beds, bathtub gardens and herb spirals.
The aspiration is that the Community Garden will be an area where Newquay residents can come to pick fruit, berries, and herbs; promoting positive mental health and wellbeing and providing a free, sustainable, and green space for residents of the town to use at their leisure.
A spokesperson from Agro-ecological Urban Micro Farming commented: “We are very excited and grateful to be given this opportunity by Newquay Town Council to create what will be an amazing, ethically managed community space.
We hope that the land will become a showcase project for how small green spaces can be managed more productively, providing wildlife such as pollinators and pest controllers a home where they can make gluts of organic food for the community.
What is particularly important for our team is that the space will become a relaxing social space, where parents can take the opportunity to reconnect their children with nature and more importantly their food, through self-pick and interactions with the wildlife running the project.
We are living in a time where it has never been so important to manage land more sustainably to reduce the pressures caused by climate change. The project will help showcase how agro-ecology can be used by communities to do our bit for a more sustainable future.”
Cllr Olly Monk commented: “This project has taken a while to bring to fruition. I am extremely glad that the project will be run by the local CIC. Local residents managing local projects always provides good results in which the local community can take pride. I look forward to seeing this project’s progress. We have all worked hard to get there and thanks to all of us who have worked hard to make this project become a reality.”
Earth works are due to begin on the site in early September to prepare the ground for planting, and the hope is that the planting and pathways will be completed by Spring 2021. If you have any questions about the project please don’t hesitate to contact Newquay Town Council at office@newquay.town or by calling (01637) 878388.
Project Updates
19 July 2021
It’s been going slow the last couple of weeks. The team have all been in self-isolation until tomorrow. Due to the pandemic and access to materials, the project is a few months behind.
Recently, we lined the pond with a special geo-textile called a bentonite liner as the pond did not ceil naturally as hoped. We will be setting in pond plants on Tuesday to include white water lilies, brandy bottles, fringe lilies and rigid hornwort. The planting was set back a couple of weeks as a member of the public decided to introduce curly water weed, an invasive non-native species on schedule 9 of the ‘Wildlife and country side act’. Because of the damage it does to natural habitats, negative effects on biodiversity and economic losses associated with control and irradiation, we had to spend quite a lot of hours removing the smallest of fragments before we could add our own desirable plants.
The team also spent several late evenings hand-scything the meadow for mulch. This was used to start building soil on the berry rows, which will be planted up in Autumn after a very tough, frosty and dry spring.
The gardens also had a visit form Ian at South West in Bloom who was quite intrigued and exited with the project. It was lovely to see him taking many photographs of the sustainable urban drainage system, soil improving flowers and wildlife. He was quite surprised at the amount we had managed to achieve since August despite us highlighting that we were several months behind schedule.
We are delighted that we have finally been able to start ordering top fruit trees. This is something that wasn’t possible last year because of time constraints and staffing issues with suppliers during the pandemic. Those that arrive potted in the next few weeks will be able to be planted in September when the weather cools down a bit. Those that are being posted bare rooted will be sent out by the suppliers for a November or December planting. The team are ordering the very hardiest and high yielding and/or Cornish varieties of pears, plums, apples, cherries, mulberries, peaches and Asian pears. We will also ensure that we have 4 or 5 different varieties of each fruit type for diversity, which will ensure resilience to extreme weather conditions, pests and disease. If one pear fails in a given year, another is sure to succeed.
29 April 2021
“The Permaculture Gardens has had a pretty tough spring with the coldest, driest April on record. Newly planted shrubs and trees have had to deal with frost, draught and wind burn but up against it all, the Broom is flowering vivid yellow, providing ample forage for early bumblebees and the windbreak is flowing. We may even get a little fruit out of it this year. In an attempt to retain water onsite we have chopped and dropped the green manure to cover the soil and prevent more evaporation.
Over the last few weeks the team in pairs have been hand digging terraces into the steepest contour lines onsite. These terraces will become the self-pick berry rows to include raspberries, Tay berries, Logan berries, Gooseberries, Josta berries, Japanese wine berries, Honey berries, blueberries and all the current colours under the rainbow. A set of hand dug steps will ease access down the hillside to the self pick which will be enclosed by a terrace of Hardy kiwi, Grape vines and Passion fruit. The footpaths between terraces is about to be sown with crimson and sweet clover to cushion our step when scrimping berries.
Over the next few months people will see the pond lined with bentonite and hopefully full of water, wild flowers sown this spring should start popping their heads along the edges of the site and behind the pond, edible pond plants will also be added. A row of Russian Olive has also bee planted along the front of the wildlife corridor.”
04 March 2021
The site is looking luscious! The nitrogen fixing shrubs, trees and crops are doing their job at fertilising the ground before we plant the fruit cropping trees.
Materials are being gathered ready to create the self-pick berry rows. We now have most of the plants ready to be planted including several varieties of raspberry, gooseberry, josta berry, tayberry, logan berry and blueberry.
Due to the pandemic and staff shortages of suppliers of the right varieties of trees for our area and climate, trees have not been able to have been ordered for the forest garden. However our trusted supplier should re-open for orders from July.
12 October 2020
Great progress has been made at Polwhele Community Garden! Hard landscaping has now taken place and the paths are in. Saplings have been planted and the pond has been dug.
The aspiration is that the Community Garden will be an area where Newquay residents can come to pick fruit, berries, and herbs; promoting positive mental health and wellbeing and providing a free, sustainable, and green space for residents of the town to use at their leisure.
The scheme is being financed by Newquay Town Town Council but is being planned and executed in partnership with Agro-ecological Urban Micro Farming CIC.
