A NEW campaign to renovate long redundant greenhouses at Blackburn’s Witton Park has been launched.

The Greenhouse Project would see structures renovated as a ‘growing, learning, wellbeing and community hub’. The aim is then for volunteers to produce seasonal food to take home and cook so that they are eating healthily.

It is also hoped that the project will enable people to have the skills needed to start growing food from their own homes.

Project leaders said local organisations could also work with people at risk of food poverty to ‘encourage wider growing’.

Andy Mather is Myplace Project Officer with the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside. He said: “These are a huge complex of five interconnecting 30 metre greenhouses that were abandoned over 10 years ago. They were used by the council to grow plants for the borough but then got out-sourced.

“They are an amazing untapped community resource which need to be seen to be believed which have immense potential for producing food and bringing all of the communities of the town together as food, nature and food growing is something that has the ability to unite us all.

“The outdoor space will be cleared for outdoor beds as well as fruit bushes and trees and a relaxing seated area will be also established.”

Lancashire Telegraph:

Andy said the greenhouses cannot be used until the asbestos is removed and the structures have been made safe.  Work to remove asbestos on one greenhouse will cost £2,700 and all five will cost £12,500. There will then be the additional cost of replacing some of the surfaces and building outdoor beds. A crowd-funding appeal has been started to help with restoration.

He said: “Our town is suffering from huge health problems, both physical and mental. 
“Our extensive experience with our MyPlace project has demonstrated that growing food, nurturing plants and accessing green spaces has massive benefits for physical and mental health. 

“There is a growing recognition that outdoor activities in the natural world are something that a wide range of people are able to access irrespective of age, social class, race or gender - activities even more vital when indoor activities may not be safe.

“Having secured funds for officer time to support people we now need to create a safe and welcoming place.”

The team also called for any companies who could donate timber needed to construct outdoor growing beds to get in touch and for anyone with old boots or outdoor waterproofs.

Blackburn Food Resilience Alliance is led by Cllr Jackie Floyd, who said:  “It will not just be about encouraging people and groups to grow food and plants but also about making it a community hub for everyone in the town to use.” 

To support the campaign click here