The community in Stoke and Morice Town has surpassed everyone’s expectations by once again delivering what was considered impossible a few years ago.
The toilet block in Stoke Village, closed since February 2020 and long considered an eyesore and scene of anti social behaviour has finally been demolished to make way for a unique collaborative community effort.
The Village Hub, supported by local resident Kenny Raybould, won a tender put out by Plymouth City Council to codesign and deliver a community garden space which will provide Stoke Village with its own square, complete with an electric point for a Christmas tree, something local residents had long been wanting.
Toilets remain a concern for users of the park of course and the Village Hub is supporting a ‘Use our Loos’ initiative where local businesses display a sticker so that their toilets can be accessed by members of the public. The Stoke Traders and Residents Association have also held a long term dream of creating a new public building within the park that would provide toilet facilities for visitors once built.
Kenny Raybould has been instrumental in the success of the community plans, using his professional skills as a horticulturalist and urban gardening specialist to come up with a design that incorporates some more unusual planting, seating and gathering space for community outdoor events.
Members of the Village Hub and volunteers will be trained by Kenny, not just with the planting and infrastructure, but also to develop a maintenance programme to ensure the garden is well looked after for years to come.
Volunteers have already been working in Blockhouse Park planting bulbs, wildflowers and small trees, mulching and watering, creating a composting area and a couple of large planters ready for some communal vegetable growing this Spring.
A Friends of Blockhouse Park Group is forming that combines local enthusiasm with some key experts to help volunteers learn how to look after local green spaces.
Members of The Stoke Traders and Residents Association have been on hand to share the history of the park, especially the Air Raid Shelter and the tragic deaths of civilians when the shelter sustained a direct hit during WW2. Local resident, Steve Kelly has identified the names of the victims and there is a plan to incorporate a memorial within the new garden design.
The community initiative has been supported from the outset by the Green Minds team at Plymouth City Council and local councillors Jemima Laing, Sally Cresswell and Tom Briars-Delve.
The Village Hub team expressed their gratitude to Plymouth City Council, Gilpin the demolition team and TEC the contractors who will work with Kenny and his team to ensure the space is made ready for planting to begin this Spring: especially Karen Pilkington who got her long term ambition to swing a sledgehammer at the toilet block – proof that change really does happen!
