moving forward fast . . . to meet the planting deadline in May!
March 11th, 2009
Following our successful meeting with Mark Perkins and the local Councillors we had a follow on meeting to discuss technical details of how to proceed.
After some back and forth and weighing up the options we tentatively decided to take the plunge (if that is possible) and aim for delivery of the Harvest Garden in time for this years planting season (mid/end May 2009) – providing we can overcome a few technicalities in a increasingly short space of time … among other things:
- we need to obtain approval The LDA (London Development Authority) to use the funds ear marked for the abbey gardens site to remediate the site using the Harvest Garden proposal by somewhere.org.uk.
- get other funds approved (Community Spaces & Local Fund)
- get English Heritage consent for the scheme and liaise with DCMS.
- approve the re-mediation strategy with the environmental department of Newham council.
- re-mediate the site with a membrane and 200mm of topsoil while at the same time levelling it to take the raised beds (which are needed as part of the re-mediation if we want to grow food on site).
- commission app 1km of raised beds to be build and installed.
- get everyone ready for gardening . . . .
The alternative would be to finish the garden for a later date in the year and miss the chance for some productive gardening (and harvesting) or postpone it for another year. Both scenarios we would desperately like to avoid.
May here we come!
Karen Guthrie (somewhere), Dasha French (FOAG), Nina Pope (somewhere) and Ceri Lewis (Modus Operandi) after the meeting in front of the old Stratford town hall. Apologies for the bad picture and for excluding half the meeting. (Mark Perkins, Sharon Swift and Nick Eley all had to run off before I remembered my camera).