New community garden for Queensway

A new community garden has been created at the ‘Q-Gardens’ project just off Queensway in Rochdale by the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale (HMR) Circle group.

The HMR Circle Community Garden came about thanks to a generous offer from Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) to help create and maintain a community garden as part of Q-Gardens.

With several raised beds for ease of access, traditional growing beds, poly-tunnels, a greenhouse, a fruit orchard area, wild and cultivated flowers and a large herb garden, HMR Circle, as well as other groups and individuals, will be able to grow whatever they desire.

There is also a communal area for 'brews' and chats as well as being somewhere to get out of the rain.

 

 

Food grown at the site will be shared amongst participants, who will be able to take what they grow home to cook and eat themselves in a perfect reward for their hard work and endeavours; RBH’s pantries, which help supply food to families and individuals at a very low cost; and the HMR Circle Dinner Drivers project, a modern 'meals on wheels' style service for older people, predominantly in the Kirkholt area but looking to expand across the borough in the very near future. 

Mark Wynn, Director of HMR Circle, said: “We are really grateful to RBH for the use of this facility, we have already had a great response for the HMR Circle Community Garden. The Q-Garden Project is an amazing facility and one our community gardeners will really enjoy taking part in. If you are interested in getting involved, give us a call on 01706 752265 or email hello@hmrcircle.org.uk."

 

 

HMR Circle is a not-for-profit community interest company which works to reduce social isolation in older people.

The HMR Circle Community Garden is part of the Circle post-lockdown development plan which will see new ideas and initiatives announced other the next coming weeks, including Repair, Refurbish & Renovate – a project similar to Men in Sheds which will be based at the HMR Circle Community Garden – and The Circle Singers, a new choir, based at Kirkholt.

Circle will also be expanding geographically and will be launching the East Manchester Circle very soon.