There is a small piece of ground at the back of Milwich Village Hall on land belonging to Stafford and Rural Homes. In 2011 the Pre-School asked permission to use this ground as a Garden and in 2012 the John T. Babb Memorial Garden was officially opened. In the same year the Pre-School won an award for their use of this garden, the children had done a great job and learned how to grow produce at the same time.
Last year, the Pre-School moved from the Village Hall up to Green Lea school and they were no longer able to use the garden. Some of the local residents asked permission to continue to use the land for the benefit of the community . Today it is an allotment garden, looked after by Suzanne Sharp with help from her neighbours, and is looking great. Suzanne told me that “it is a community effort and that the produce was being shared around the residents of Allways Close, particularly those that were no longer able to grow produce themselves”.
Laura MacPhee, Community Involvement Officer at Stafford and Rural Homes said “Since it was launched in May 2012, The Milwich Community Allotment has really developed and it’s wonderful to see everyone is working together to maintain a clean, pleasant environment for the community to enjoy.
The allotment has also helped generate a lot of community pride, by giving local residents the opportunity to socialise and learn new skills, whilst sharing the fresh produce grown on the site.”
The vegetables are growing well!
John Babb was a Parish Councillor for many years, a strong supporter of the local community and founder Chairman of the Milwich and District Produce Guild and their Annual Produce Show. He was renowned for growing extra large onions and won many of the trophies in the early days of the Show. The 27th Annual Show will be held this year on Saturday 6th September, along with the return of the popular Classic Car show.
It is pleasing to see that this garden, dedicated to John’s memory, is producing fruit and vegetables as John would have wished and is benefiting the community. Well done Suzanne and all involved!
This page will be updated to keep people informed of developments in the garden.
