Alamein Garden awarded Village Green Status

Residents living close to Alamein Gardens can celebrate in the knowledge that Village Green Status has been awarded to the garden at the corner of Tollgate Road and London Road.

Kent County Council's Regulation Committee on Friday 7th August 2009 at County Hall to consider the application, made by Stone Parish Council, to register the green. The new status now provides a level of statutory protection ensuring that local people have a guaranteed right to use the land in perpetuity for informal recreational purposes. This means that once the land is registered it cannot be removed from the formal Register of Town and Village Greens and must be kept free of development or other encroachments.

Six letters of support from local residents were sent to KCC stating that the land was popular as many residents live in flats with no garden and this was the only area of enclosed land where young children could play safely.

The parish council were successful in securing the transfer of the green from KCC back in January 2007 in a bid to protect it as open space. Since then, a 'Community Garden Project' has been launched in a bid for local residents to get involved with the development and maintenance of the site.

Every Tuesday morning from 10.00 (weather permitting), local residents join Parish Council ground staff to prune, weed and make improvements to the garden, which has seen recent installations such as bins, benches, a notice board and an insect garden.

Further plans to landscape the garden include new trees and shrubs, bat & bird boxes and raised beds to encourage the less agile to get involved. A regular meeting also takes place between those involved to discuss ideas.

Anyone is welcome to come along and join in the gardening fun!

For more details call 01322 224246