Dunton community garden celebrates makeover after grant boost

Dunton Community Gardens is celebrating 23 years of providing a beautiful space for residents, and Central Bedfordshire Council provided £8,500 of government funding for the recent work.

Cllr Adam Zerny, Leader of Central Bedfordshire Council, together with Cllr Walsh, Chairman of the Local Partnership Group and Executive Member for Highways and Planning, joined members from Dunton Gardens to mark the reopening of the gardens to the local community last Thursday.

The money has been used to refurbish the kitchen and improve the garden by installing a pathway to enable wheelchair users and those with limited mobility or prams to access the garden and facilities within.

Cllr Walsh said: “This is another fantastic example of a community-led project that has benefited from UKSPF and REPF funding. We are all aware of the mental wellbeing benefits that working in a garden can bring and I’d encourage residents to visit and get involved.”

The community garden, which became a charity in 2006, aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people and access to development opportunities through organic horticulture and community activities.

In 2010 the garden moved onto a larger one hectare fallow field within Church Farm in Dunton and developed purpose-built facilities and began cultivating the land.

It has long been nurtured by a dedicated team of volunteers providing a beautiful space for residents. To celebrate the improvements to the community space an open day and plant sale was hosted in April.

The government funding is allocated from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF).