THANK YOU!

A huge thank you to all residents who came along to the Annual BBQ on Saturday 20th. 

Your hardworking Committee members woke up to the sound of rain on Saturday morning but after many pleas, applications and prayers (and a brisk wind from the south) the sun was splitting the sky by lunchtime.

It was amazing to welcome almost 50 people to the BBQ and we hope everyone got a chance to chat to old and new friends.

This event took lots of planning and many people helped with the preparation and run up to the big day.

We would like to say special thanks to Craig and Douglas who helped the committee members build some of the garden furniture, Alan who helped build the gazebo, Anne who lent some comfy chairs for the day and finally to Donald the Butcher on Hyndland Road who provided the sausages and burgers to us at significant community discount.

On the day itself a huge thanks goes out to Douglas who was head chef, Michael for the gourmet potato salad, Shirley & Mo who made delicious cakes as well as lamb & chicken for the grill.

We also received generous donations from residents of Trust Housing Association of food and drinks. Many thanks to everyone else who brought drinks, food and snacks for everyone to enjoy – it was hugely appreciated.

sunny against all odds

Hopefully many of you also had the opportunity to see the work happening on the south bank of the garden. It’s looking fantastic and work continues this week. We invited Richard, the director of the ground clearance company, to join us on Saturday, We hear he enjoyed getting to meet so many residents and garden users.

The whole Committee would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took time to share positive feedback, thanks and suggestions about the recent garden improvements. It really does mean such a lot to hear how people are using and enjoying our shared space.

We’d love to keep hearing more and have the opportunity to answer questions residents may have so please drop us a line or come along to one of our drop in sessions.

Based on the success of the BBQ we’d love to host an Autumn Event and we’re thinking of a “Halloween Sparkler & Sausage Sizzle” on Saturday 29th October.

Please also share your thoughts with us, as we would love our events to reflect what you would like to attend and get involved with.

Further Update on Ground Clearance Works

Great news, the work to prepare the south bank of the garden is progressing really well. 

The next stage will begin on Monday 22nd August and involves the use of a digger to remove debris and waste from the bank.

During this time residents of Highburgh Road should be aware that bins will be moved around to ensure good access for equipment and that skips will be used for the removal of waste. Despite some wet days recently the ground remains pretty dry and our contractor wants to take advantage of this window for bringing in heavier equipment. 

Additionally, to facilitate equipment access, the lane will be cleared of all items except

  • Refuse bins
  • Compost bins
  • Slabs / matting that bins are placed on

We have identified a number of plants in the lane that will be cleared and replanted in the garden. 

If you have other items that are located in the lane that you don’t wish to be removed as part of this necessary clearance we kindly ask that you take them into your garden by the evening of Sunday 21st August.

Thank you for your co-operation with this work and we look forward to seeing as many people as possible at the BBQ tomorrow – the parasols and tables provide pretty good protection against the elements so we will be going ahead come rain or shine!

Can you help us?

A request for volunteers.

We have received some really positive feedback about the new garden furniture and it’s amazing to see it being used so often. So much so we have heard your requests for more!

So this week we are expecting the delivery of some more garden furniture on Tuesday 9th August, and we’d love your help to assemble it.

Are you free for an hour on the evenings of Tuesday 9th, Wednesday 10th, Thursday 11th or Friday 12th or that weekend to help us assemble the furniture?

We do have some experience within the committee as a couple of us recently built some of the items in the garden so you wouldn’t be on your own to figure it out! 

If you can spare an hour or so it would be really appreciated – please drop us an email on hello@crown.garden

South Ground Clearance Update

During July we advised that we had instructed garden clearance work to allow us to prepare for the restructuring of the garden perimeter.

For those of you who have visited the garden recently you will have seen the huge change already.

BEFORE
AFTER

Some older tree stumps were discovered buried in the south bank as well as some ancient relics; including old linoleum, two tv aerials, an oxygen cylinder, and a toilet!

We are now ready to move on to the next phase of this work, including making some essential repairs to the wall located in the lane.

If you were a resident back in 2008 you may remember a proposal to strengthen the wall and, while the cost was prohibitive, some later remedial works were recently carried out to rebuild breaches in the wall.

This wall rebuild has largely held up well but would now benefit from some essential repairs in other areas before we complete the restructuring of the southern perimeter.

To inhibit further slide of the soil from the bank putting pressure on the wall we are also removing the excess soil weight that has built up over many years and placing some retaining sleepers all along the length of the south bank, which will also widen the present path by a metre into the bank space, making the central area to the garden wider.

Weather permitting, this work will begin on 16 August. There will be an excavator, Land Rover and trailer on site throughout this time. Great care is being taken by our contractor to ensure the work is completed while we’re enjoying this window of drier summer weather as heavy equipment on wetter ground would cause damage to the lane.

Please do come along to our drop-in sessions if you have any questions about the work or suggestions for the garden. We love to hear from fellow residents.