BUILE HILL MANSION ASSOCIATION ARE LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS TO HELP RESTORE THE SENSORY GARDEN TO ITS FORMER GLORY

The Mansion Association was born out of public anger after proposals to build homes within the boundary of Buile Hill Park emerged online, since the associations early days and tentative initial meetings, it has gone from strength to strength. 

The associations Facebook Group has steadily grown and in recent months it has seen a huge burst of activity and support from the public who have thrown their weight behind the belief that the historic park and mansion can be once more brought back to a condition that the whole City can be proud of.

They have been at the forefront of the campaign to protect the park from housing developers as well as the fight to restore the grade 2 park and mansion back to their former glory, with a petition ran by Lynda Curran managing to gain over three thousand signatures, a noble effort which was widely seen as being instrumental in highlighting the growing opposition to any form of plans for housing within the park.

This option has since been completely ruled out by Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett, after a huge public backlash prompted him to make a statement on the parks future, housing has since been discounted, with other options now being pursued.

Whilst the plans for the Mansion and Depot area's future are still being discussed and debated, the group hopes to get a head start on restoring at least one part of the park, that being the 'sensory garden' which was originally known as the garden for the blind when it first opened to the public back in 1963.

Sadly the Garden was shelved due to budget cuts and as with the Mansion, it has since fallen into disuse and decline to such an extent that it was overgrown, wild and unkempt.

Despite a crowdfunder by the parks friends group in 2017 which raised £27 to buy new bulbs and flowers, the garden has sadly remained empty and unloved, albeit in a much better state than in previous years thanks to the hard work of volunteers who put a lot of effort into removing the brambles and overgrowth.

After what was described as a positive meeting with the Mayor and the Council last week, the mansion group has set its sights on trying to restore the garden back to a place of beauty for the local community to enjoy once more, they are seeking permission to 'revive' the garden.

The group has asked the council for permission to have access in order to clean it up and make the area available to the public once more, with that in mind they are looking for volunteers to devote a little time and effort into clearing the site of any old vegetation and to help clean it up and make it look beautiful once more.

The public response to the idea so far has been nothing but positive with people from across the whole city offering to put in a little time and effort to make it happen. The people of Salford are seemingly very much behind this idea and want to see it happen.

We popped down with a camera this morning to see the current state for ourselves and although the local friends group have done a sterling job of cleaning up and maintaining the area, it really could do with a little more tender loving care to revive it back to its former status as a local asset and thing of beauty.

Whilst there we spoke to a lady named Karen who lives local to the park, she suggested that local green fingered folks could maybe grow plants to be planted in the garden each year, she also suggested it may be a good idea to ask local schools to become involved in order to turn it into a community garden, by the community for the community.

She said,

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"It may instill a little bit of pride for the park within our youngsters, if they are involved with the project from an early age, maybe that way they may respect the park more and learn to appreciate it as they grow older.

"It's an asset they can pass down to their children to enjoy in later life."

 

John who has walked his dogs at Buile Hill for over 3 decades, thought it was a 'grand idea'. 

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"I used to bring my children to visit the garden when they were much younger, my youngest daughter would refer to it as the bee garden as they were ever present in the summer months going about their business pollinating the flowers.

"When the garden was allowed to fall into decline I was saddened at the state it would later come to be in.

"I would love to see it being used once more."

 

Others have suggested contacting local allotments & growers associations asking them to get involved as well as the RHS who are soon to open their latest 'Bridgewater' garden in Worsley.

The will and want of the community is there, all it needs is for the council to sign off on the idea and work can begin, this much loved and important part of our history could soon see a blossoming future.

To find out more and to join the group, please follow this link which will take you to the associations Facebook group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/171606253691611/