A petition to stop the potential sale of St. Paul’s Rectory Garden in West Hackney has amassed more than 1,300 signatures.
It was launched by Sam Silverlock, the garden manager, on 26 February. He fears that the sale of the land will result in the “loss of a wonderful community garden, one that has been integral in making the area around the church so rich, abundant and beautiful.”
The Diocese of London, which owns the land, is proposing to sell the almost 200-year-old Rectory for private development, with the potential of residential flats being built on the site of the garden within five years.
The response to the petition has surprised Sam: “I was kind of waiting for someone else to do it but then I thought, ‘Ah, I’ll just do it.’ I thought it would get 100 signatures, so I was quite amazed now it’s over 1,000.
“I’ve read the responses, some of them are really beautiful from people who have actually had a personal connection here with the garden.”
The Rectory Garden is a walled green space next to the West Hackney recreation grounds and is regularly used by local groups and charities.
“The North London Action for the Homeless [NLAH] look after the kitchen gardens, so when they do meals for the homeless, the garden supplements the food that they make,” Sam said.
“There’s a group for vulnerable women, Open Doors, who use it as well. People like the [Girl] Guides use it, and there’s the Posh Club, which is a club for elderly people to try and break isolation,” he continued.
Speaking on the support for the petition, Sam said: “It’s such an important thing for people, they’re very passionate about protecting nature and green spaces for the community rather than private developers.
“It makes a difference for people to be able to come out in the sunshine and be part of nature in a safe and secure place … they would lose out on that.”
Beyond its public use, the garden plays an important role in the area’s biodiversity. It houses a community pond for frogs, birds, and bees; garden waste in the rectory is composted and repurposed as mulch, and the greenhouse is used to propagate seeds for replanting in the recreation grounds.
The Diocese of London said: “The Diocese is currently in conversation with the Parochial Church Council (PCC) about plans for the rectory garden which will involve respect for biodiversity and protection of green space as well as exploring potential for development and a more energy efficient rectory.
“We are mindful of the local community’s strength of feeling around the garden.
“We are very early in the process of engaging on possible proposals for St Paul’s, and any potential application would go through the full statutory planning process, where local residents would be able to submit their feedback to the Council.”
Lily Scaplehorn - community reporter for Clissold - former political reporter at Radio Cardiff and Bro Radio