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'Secret' garden created on scrubland opens

Julia GregoryChannel Islands
News imageSt Helier Community Trust Vice Chair of the St Helier Community Trust stands in front of green metal gates into the community garden which lead down a path with a fence and houses on one side.St Helier Community Trust
Bob McGinnigle is among the volunteers preparing to welcome people to the garden

A "secret garden" created out of scrubland is being officially opened.

La Pouquelaye Community Garden has been created by the St Helier Community Trust, which has planted fruit trees and hedges and built a pagoda and allotment beds for community groups to use.

Trust chair Andrew Lewis said: "It is pretty much a secret garden - it was a piece of wasteland left behind in the 1940s."

He said homes were built up around the site near the former La Pouquelaye School off Fairfield Avenue, but this plot was left empty.

News imageSt Helier Community Trust A view of the newly transformed park space. There are newly planted trees and a pathway through the centre. To the right are houses. St Helier Community Trust
Andrew Lewis said the community garden officially opened on Tuesday

He said the official opening on Tuesday 30 June will be the unveiling of a "sanctuary for the north of St Helier".

Lewis added the space which was a "target for fly-tipping" has been transformed into "a flourishing oasis that reflects the very best of Jersey's enduring community spirit".

News imageSt Helier Community Trust A view of the overgrown park area with houses behind large bushes. There is grass in front of the overgrown hedges.St Helier Community Trust
The trust said the park would be used as a garden for forest schools

The garden has been designed with areas tailored for residents "with mobility issues, mental health difficulties and other social challenges" and includes retreat spaces and raised allotment beds.

Children's charity the Centre Point Trust and the Youth Service will use the garden for forest schools, growing plants and exploring the sensory garden, the trust said.

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