Trafford Rye Bank Community Garden has been created by local Trafford residents as a valuable community space.
The garden is situated on a piece of land that was abandoned decades ago. The local community has been in control of the land for many years, tidying it when needed, removing litter and policing parking and neighbourhood watch incidents.
After receiving grants from Trafford Council and Trafford Housing Trust, a team of dedicated residents have built and cared for the garden with their own hands. This space is such an important entrance to both Longford Park and Rye Bank Fields.
All the hard work has paid off as it is now a well-used community space, loved by many. At different times of the day, you may see children playing on the seats, walking on the pebbles or reading a book from the tiny library. The latter is also used by all ages and has become a valuable community resource on its own.
The community garden is enjoyed by hundreds of dog walkers, runners, readers, parents, children and other park users every day. The positive feedback we have received has been truly heartwarming and makes all the hard work worth it!
There are some great photos on the Gallery page, or check out the Voices page to see how the public feels about the space. The History page has information about how it all came together, and you can see the people and businesses who have helped, and continue to support the garden, on our Supporters page.
We welcome all feedback and suggestions so please send them in via our Contact Form.
You can also follow our community garden page on Facebook.
If you have enjoyed the garden and can help in any small way we would greatly appreciate a donation to the ongoing running costs or any help maintaining or improving the garden space. Contact us and we can let you know how to donate or otherwise help out.
Finally, and you may well already know, our garden is under threat as Manchester Metropolitan University is seeking to sell the adjacent Ryebank Fields. As part of this, it is trying its utmost to have a developer build an access road to the development through the middle of our beautiful garden space.
Please sign up to our email list below so we can notify you how you can help save our community garden when a planning application is submitted.
Supporters
Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston:
"I had the pleasure of visiting the Trafford Ryebank Residents Association Community Garden before the pandemic and joined residents at their Christmas celebration in 2019.
I pay tribute to the many enhancements that have been made by its Friends in recent months, which will enable visitors to relax, read, and enjoy time with family and friends in the garden.
I warmly support protecting this special place for residents to enjoy."
Judith Lloyd, Councillor for Firswood:
"I am fully supportive of the residents on Rye Bank Road. I do not wish to see any impact on the Trafford side of Ryebank Fields as a result of the proposed development which is fully in Manchester.
The Community Garden is a wonderful asset to the residents of the Rye Bank Road area and needs to be a permanent feature. It is a good example of the community coming together to take pride in their area. I would congratulate everyone who has been involved with this.
Green spaces are important for Health & Wellbeing and I know Ryebank Fields has been used by the community."
Help Us Save the Garden
Manchester Metropolitan University and Manchester City Council are supporting a proposal for a housing development on Rye Bank Fields, with a new access road that will destroy the Rye Bank Community Garden.
We are fighting this with the support of Trafford Council and our MP. We would love your support too - please sign up to our email list by adding your email address on this page and we will keep you updated on how you can help save the community garden from demolition by a housing developer.
Thanks for joining our email list and supporting the community garden! We will be in touch again when we have some garden news.
Your privacy is important to us, so we will never share your email address with anyone else. We will never spam you and only ever use your email address to send you communications regarding the Rye Bank Community Garden and the Rye Bank Fields development.