FWG's future plans for Whitehurst Gardens centre upon three main objectives:
• Before we can initiate any work on the site, due to the fragile nature of the site’s heritage, we need to first raise the funds for various archaeological, environmental and structural surveys of the area. As of January 2016, we have received a start-up grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to achieve this vital first step. The surveys will take place over the first few months of 2016.
• Once the surveys are complete, we’ll have the data needed to help us understand exactly how much work and funds are required to achieve our aims of restoring the important heritage surviving on the site (the vinery, the walls, the mount and possibly the water feature), clearing the site of weeds and unwanted plant growth, making the site safe for the public to visit, and planting the community orchard and other parts of the garden. We are aware that this process might take several years to complete, and we will seek more funding to achieve this aim.
• Once the site is restored, FWG will continue to act in the capacity of the ‘guardian’ of the site, ensuring a flow of funds to continue the preservation of the site, managing the function of the site as a productive community orchard and public garden, and attracting people to the site as visitors to enjoy the gardens or as volunteers to help maintain them. This will be an on-going process, and the baton will be passed from existing members to future generations.
The ideal result of all our work would be a beautiful community garden that respects the history of the site and provides generations to come with a resourceful amenity that provides pleasure and tranquillity as well as a vital resource for horticultural and historical education.
Ultimately, we want the restored Whitehurst Gardens to be a focus for the entire community and an attraction for the many visitors who come to this beautiful area. In addition, our vision includes the site’s use as an educational resource that can be used by the numerous local schools in the area, by disabled children’s centres (such as Your Space in nearby Black Park), by organisations supporting NEETs, by the residents of care homes to provide them with a much needed outdoor horticultural resource, and so on.
• Before we can initiate any work on the site, due to the fragile nature of the site’s heritage, we need to first raise the funds for various archaeological, environmental and structural surveys of the area. As of January 2016, we have received a start-up grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to achieve this vital first step. The surveys will take place over the first few months of 2016.
• Once the surveys are complete, we’ll have the data needed to help us understand exactly how much work and funds are required to achieve our aims of restoring the important heritage surviving on the site (the vinery, the walls, the mount and possibly the water feature), clearing the site of weeds and unwanted plant growth, making the site safe for the public to visit, and planting the community orchard and other parts of the garden. We are aware that this process might take several years to complete, and we will seek more funding to achieve this aim.
• Once the site is restored, FWG will continue to act in the capacity of the ‘guardian’ of the site, ensuring a flow of funds to continue the preservation of the site, managing the function of the site as a productive community orchard and public garden, and attracting people to the site as visitors to enjoy the gardens or as volunteers to help maintain them. This will be an on-going process, and the baton will be passed from existing members to future generations.
The ideal result of all our work would be a beautiful community garden that respects the history of the site and provides generations to come with a resourceful amenity that provides pleasure and tranquillity as well as a vital resource for horticultural and historical education.
Ultimately, we want the restored Whitehurst Gardens to be a focus for the entire community and an attraction for the many visitors who come to this beautiful area. In addition, our vision includes the site’s use as an educational resource that can be used by the numerous local schools in the area, by disabled children’s centres (such as Your Space in nearby Black Park), by organisations supporting NEETs, by the residents of care homes to provide them with a much needed outdoor horticultural resource, and so on.