Houlton announces winner of community gardens design competition

The gardens are situated in front of the Houlton allotments which opened to residents last year and the formal open space which is set to launch this Spring.

Residents of all ages and backgrounds submitted their designs to be voted on by the community with Vanessa’s design ultimately taking the gold.

Houlton resident, Vanessa Hunjan said: ‘My aim was to start a community garden that gave everyone the opportunity to get a taste of gardening, learn something new, add to, enjoy and unwind.’

Houlton is proud to announce the winner of its community garden design challenge, Vanessa Hunjan.

Last month, Houlton’s Master Developer Urban&Civic hosted an event for residents to take part in helping design their very own community gardens.

The budding garden designers had to consider how their new community garden should look, how they will welcome the wider community into the space, maintain it, and how the space will evolve to the future, to meet the demands of the growing community.

Vanessa’s daughter and inspiration for her garden design had this to say: ‘The news that we have won makes me excited, happy, cheerful all at the same time! I am especially looking forward to making new homes for the ladybugs, bees, caterpillars, and butterflies. Thank you for all your votes!’

Kyle Smith, Communications, Communities, and Partnerships, said: ‘We are so excited to see Vanessa’s design become a reality. It was clear to see how thoughtful her ideas were, with a focus on creating a space that promotes learning about nature and gardening as well as nurturing wellbeing and the feeling of community.

“This is just one of many events which enable our residents to get hands on and make decisions which will directly affect their local area. We are always looking for new opportunities to work in partnership with our community and these gardens are a fantastic testament to this.

Once complete, we look forward to seeing the residents gather again in their own self-designed community gardens!’

Houlton’s formal open space consists of Houlton’s first set of allotments, the first of three to be delivered, plus table tennis tables, yoga lawn, football pitches and beside all of this, residents’ very own community gardens.

Houlton is now home to over 1,000 families living in the new community as well St Gabriel’s Primary School, Houlton School and a thriving community hub home to The Tuning Fork, Old Station Nursery and Co-op. A further 5000 homes are planned at Houlton over the next 10-15 years and homes are available through a range of housebuilders on site.