History
Before
Pre-2019
An abandoned piece of land.
Obtained First Grant & the Garden Design Starts
October 2019
After receiving a grant from Trafford Council, the garden area is bordered and the first planters went in.
Grand opening!
December 2019
The Rye Bank Community Garden was officially opened with a street party. It was attended by Trafford residents, MP Kate Green and the Longford Ward local councillors.
Tiny Library
June 2020
Beautiful tiny library built from reclaimed materials by a local artist. Community-run book-swapping, encouraging reading and literacy development and contributing to circular economy practices.
The Willow Arch
February 2021
We commissioned a local artist, Mez from MAD Sustainable Design, to build a beautiful willow arch as an entrance to Rye Bank Fields. With help from two lovely guys from Tibetan Kitchen, this stunning installation has brought a beautiful new dimension to the garden. Complete with Tibetan prayer flags too!
Totem Poles
April 2021
We commissioned a local artist, Mez from MAD Sustainable Design, to build three totem poles to add a new visual element to the start of the path into Longford Park. Local children painted the birds that appear on the poles.
We think you'll agree that they look stunning!
Asset of Community Garden Status!
May 2021
After the hard work of so many people, our application to Trafford Council to have the garden space listed as an Asset of Community Value was successful.
This means the land cannot be sold without us being notified and given the opportunity to bid for it. We hope this now protects the garden from being bulldozed for an access road to any housing development on Rye Bank Fields as proposed by Manchester Metropolitan University.
We further hope that without this access road any development of Rye Bank Fields is now untenable and it remains as the important open green space which so many of our community love and enjoy daily!
Mosaic stepping stone
August 2021
The mosaic tiles were created by local residents and their children on a very hot Sunday session in the garden. One of our residents attended a mosaic workshop and then helped others to create their own mosaic stepping stones. The stones feature various nature images including dragonfly’s, mushrooms, rainbows and fish.
Mosaic mushrooms
October 2021
We commissioned Mez from MAD Sustainable Design to create a sculpture for a shady part of the garden. Mez created a beautiful unique mushroom using old CDs which reflect the light and natural colours in the garden.
Future Plans
The 'guardians of the garden' have more exciting plans for the garden, including commissioning local artists to create more pieces to catch the eye.
Our fundraising team is working hard too.
Whilst we have some funding for some of the larger items we have planned, we are in need of donations to cover the general upkeep and stocking of the garden together with admin such as the necessary insurances and website hosting etc.
If you can help in any way, whether by financial donation or volunteering to maintain and develop the garden please get in touch with us.
We welcome all feedback and suggestions so please send them in via our Contact Form.
Find Out More
There's some great photos on the Gallery page, or check out the Voices page to read about how the public feels about the space.
The Supporters page shows the people and businesses who have helped (and continue to help) to make it all happen.
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.