Community Cash Giveaway 2010: Springwood community brings back garden thanks to Examiner cash giveaway

Jan 19 2010 By Emma Davison

Community brings back garden thanks to cash boost

A BIG cash boost has given people living in the Springwood area their garden back.

The patch of land on Prospect Street was given to the community 10 years ago, but in recent years had become neglected and overgrown.

Now thanks to the Examiner’s cash giveaway, locals are enjoying its benefits once again.

Hazel Spencer, from Springwood Tenants’ and Residents’ Association, said: “The money has meant the world to us and really helped us enhance the area.

“It’s really nice that groups like ours are helped like this so they can keep working to do everything they can to help improve life for their community.”

The millennium garden near Springwood Sikh Temple was opened in 2000 as a gift to the community by Kirklees Council.

The L-shaped garden with its far-reaching views towards Castle Hill was a lovely space for locals to gather, but was soon left to become overgrown.

The community recently decided to take matters into their own hands and save their little oasis.

A small band of volunteers hacked back the overgrown grass and grants enabled them to buy a shed and picnic benches.

And thanks to a £450 boost awarded through the Examiner’s £30,000 community cash scheme, they have been able to buy gardening equipment and dozens of plants to inject a splash of colour to the area.

Hazel said the new improved garden has meant a lot to the community, particularly those who don’t have any green space to enjoy themselves.

She said: “Around here there are so many different cultures and schemes like this helps to bring them together to a place they can all enjoy and spend time in.

“There’s not much around here so having something like this to enjoy really helps lift the spirit of the community.

“It gives the elderly around here somewhere nice to enjoy and gives the kids somewhere safe to play.

“A lot of people live in flats and don’t have their own gardens so this now gives them their own little haven.