Tenants’ idea grows into a new community vegetable patch on Barnsley estateTenants’ idea grows into a new vegetable patch on council estate in Barnsley

Progress: Tidy Team staff and Berneslai Homes colleagues at work in Darfield

Council tenants on a Barnsley estate have been provided with a unique new facility for their homes – a new community vegetable garden.

The idea echoes the ‘Incredible Edible’ idea, first promoted in Todmorden where residents grow vegetables in public areas for universal consumption.

That has been widely followed, with similar schemes now operating in the Oxspring, Penistone and Millhouse Green areas of Barnsley.

Berneslai Homes, working with the council’s Tidy Team, stepped in to help residents in the Woodfield Close area of Darfield, who were struggling with a makeshift vegetable bed.

They had taken on a disused area of land, but were struggling to make it work because of difficult ground conditions and asked for help.

The new raised beds provide an area where not only should plants thrive, but where resents can enjoy the outdoors and each others’ company.

Berneslai Homes community engagement officer, Gillian Totty said: “This is a great community project, the residents hope the garden is more than just a place to grow veg but a place where they can bond together and help reduce isolation.”