Abbey Foregate Pocket Park will open to the public on Thursday the 8th of October (Courtesy Martin Monahan)
What was once a fenced-off patch of disused land in Abbey Foregate will officially launch as a new public space for Shrewsbury next week, with the official opening of Abbey Foregate Pocket Park and the Wilfred Owen Community Garden on Thursday the 8th of October.
The Pocket Park offers public seating with free high-speed WiFi, a decorative central planter, Brompton bike hire box and Shrewsbury Moves Cycle Pod for secure bike storage. It is designed to give residents and visitors a place to stop and enjoy a significant heritage area, situated on one of the main pedestrian routes into the town centre.
A large mural by local artist Charlotte Tisdale, measuring 2.5 x 6m, has recently been unveiled on site, hiding two less sightly features of the adjacent building. The artwork reflects the site’s former use as a bicycle repair business, looks to the future with details of planting and wildlife inhabiting the space, and reflects the history of Abbey Foregate, which developed as a medieval suburb around the Benedictine Abbey founded in 1083.
To the rear of the Pocket Park is the Wilfred Owen Community Garden, which will be planted and maintained by local volunteers. The garden takes its name from the iconic First World War poet, whose family home was on nearby Monkmoor Road. Keen-eyed residents will have noticed the Men’s Shed hard at work on decorative and functional fencing to protect the garden when unoccupied.
A small team of volunteer garden leads have been appointed to manage the project and lead community engagement. A public workshop will be held tomorrow night (1st Oct) at English Bridge Studios, giving prospective volunteers the chance to share their ideas for how the space should develop and meet one another, and the leads, before beginning work on the space.
Seb Slater, Executive Director of Shrewsbury BID, said:
“This project shows what can be achieved when landowners, businesses, councils and the community work together. Abbey Foregate is a gateway to the town centre, and this space gives people a reason to pause there. We look forward to seeing the space in use, and to watching the garden develop through the seasons. A huge thank you to Martin for his hard work on bringing this all together in such an efficient and careful manner, as well as to all the partners who have been involved to date.”
Martin Monahan, landowner and project coordinator, and the businessman behind Shrewsbury’s Buttermarket, said:
“From the very beginning, this has been about creating something positive for Abbey Foregate and giving the community a space it can genuinely feel part of. Seeing so many local people, volunteers, businesses and organisations come together to transform a neglected piece of land has been incredibly special, and I can’t wait to see the community enjoy it and watch the garden grow over the years ahead.”
The public are invited to attend the grand opening at 6.00pm – 8.00pm on the 8th of October at the Pocket Park, hosted by the project partners and attended by representatives from the Shrewsbury Big Town Plan Partnership, Shropshire Council, Shrewsbury Town Council, the Wilfred Owen Community Garden team, Shrewsbury Men’s Shed, and representatives from the local businesses and organisations that have supported the project.
Anyone interested in volunteering at the garden can register at this form. They will then be added to a list to hear about future volunteering opportunities and workshops in the garden.
The setup of the project was funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, with match funding from The Shrewsbury Big Town Plan Partnership and the local community.
