Bovis Homes is hoping to help make Oundle bloom by donating £3,000 to a community volunteer-led project.
The housebuilder, which is building new properties at its Cotterstock Meadows location in the town, has given the money to help Blooming Oundle, which plants flowers in public places, picks up litter and promotes a love of gardening through local groups.
The project was created by Oundle Business Association and local environmental organisation Transition Oundle in 2020. The group, which has about 30 members, is financed by grants and donations from members of the public and local businesses.
Volunteers plant, restock and weed flower planters throughout the town, ensuring a splash of colour to brighten up the lives of residents. They are also involved in a number of community initiatives, including supporting a gardening club which tends gardens at various places including Oundle Library and the Healthcare Centre. The team also runs a seed-swap scheme which is a free exchange of seeds, and updating and rewriting the mapped route for Oundle’s Tree Trail, which celebrates the variety of trees growing in the town.
Myra Hales, who is chair of Blooming Oundle, said: “We are both thrilled and grateful to receive this very kind donation from Bovis Homes. Times are tough and we do rely on donations and grants to allow us to continue our work, so this money is most welcome.
“Oundle is a beautiful, historic Georgian town which we want to make even more beautiful to match other nearby towns which are festooned with lovely flowers, creating wonderful uplifting displays.
“We will use this money to buy new flowers, compost and new planters to replace older ones throughout the town. The donation may enable us to enter the town into Britain in Bloom in 2024, which would be fantastic.
“As an organisation, we do a lot of work besides just planting flowers that look pretty in public places and the donation from Bovis Homes will help us to continue that important work too.”
Fraser Hopes, managing director for Cotterstock Meadows, said: “Oundle is a very handsome town and as a developer building new homes here, we wholeheartedly support any organisation that helps keep the place looking fabulous.
“When we found out about Blooming Oundle we were so impressed to learn that planting flowers and keeping planters clean and tidy throughout the town is just one of many initiatives they are involved in. As well as making the town look more attractive with eye-catching floral displays, members also do the less pleasant jobs of picking up litter, removing graffiti and cleaning bus shelters.
“The group also promotes a general love of gardening within a number of schemes in the community which reach out to vulnerable members of society to help makes their lives better. We are pleased to know that our donation will help them carry on their sterling work, which is vital to the well-being of the local community and its people.”
Details about the work of Blooming Oundle are available at https://www.facebook.com/BloomingOundle/.
The Bovis homes at Cotterstock Meadows are being built by Vistry East Midlands, part of the Vistry Group.’
