Up The Garden Bath to build ‘ambitious’ community cafe and classroom at East of England Showground site

Up The Garden Bath has been chosen to transform seven acres of derelict land into a community eco garden - with a community cafe and classroom.

The dynamic community interest company has made waves by taking materials like old bathtubs and upcycling them into garden planters which are then used in schools, care homes and community centres to educate people about the importance of recycling.

In addition, the recycling and community champions have recently launched a pop-up shop in Queensgate, helping to give local vendors a shot in the arm and promote the benefits of supporting a local economy.

Now, the award-winning outfit – which was founded by Dave Poulton and Kez Hayes-Palmer in 2020 – have taken on their most ambitious project yet - to create “Peterborough’s largest totally free community garden.”

Speaking with the Peterborough Telegraph, an excited Dave explained how Asset Earning Power Group (AEPG) – the company behind the redevelopment of the East of England Showground – offered him the chance to create something special at the new 152-acre site.

He said he pounced at the opportunity after seeing what AEPG had in mind for the area.“It’s not going to be just another housing estate,” he said. “Their whole plan is based around green spaces and health and well-being - it’s a very impressive plan.”

Alongside 1,500 new homes and an assisted living facility, the redeveloped showground site will be home to a school and significant leisure facilities, such as a hotel, an entertainment centre and sports pitches.

Not just allotments

Once used as a conservation area, the seven acres of land that has been earmarked for Up The Garden Bath has remained derelict for 15 years.

Dave says this makes it an ideal plot to create one of their ORACLE sites: an area designated for Outdoor, Regional, Agricultural, Community, Learning Experiences.

Like many of their other projects, ORACLES use materials which would otherwise end up in landfill. Most of these materials are donated by local businesses or residents. In this instance however, the donations will be made by AEPG’s ongoing construction work:

“We will be creating the space from the waste generated from the redevelopment,” Dave gleefully said.

The energetic founder is keen to point out that the garden will “not just be allotments.”

”It's going to be an educational and environmental space where we can educate and grow together,” he added: “everyone can learn about recycling and gardening techniques - think of it as Sacrewell Farm but without the animals.”

To this end, visitors can expect to see an outdoor classroom and a community cafe alongside the site’s growing areas and gardens. Any excess produce the growing area provides will, Dave insists, go back into the local community to alleviate food poverty.

This outlook falls squarely within Up The Garden Bath’s core ethos of “benefiting the community, creating social cohesion and uniting everyone.” It is something that Dave is keen to emphasise.

“Orton Goldhay and Orton Malborne are some of the region’s most disadvantaged areas,” he notes, adding: “there are 25,000 houses close by.

“This garden will be within walking distance of a huge population that doesn't have a lot to do so it’s going to benefit them a great deal.”

Toil away

Work on getting the garden fit for purpose and ready to use will begin in earnest. David is hopeful the site will be ready for a “soft unveiling around Harvest Time” (September) when visitors will be able to get a rough idea of what is in store.

The idea then is to “toil away” over the winter, putting in paths, electricity and weatherproofing, with plans to open around Easter.

Though it’s clear Dave and his dedicated team have a lot of work ahead of them, the energetic trailblazer is genuinely thrilled about what lies ahead:

“To have this opportunity to create such a wonderful attraction that is going to impact on so many people’s lives - we are really honoured that AEPG has chosen us.”