Resident’s sensory garden appeal sees plans spring back

PLANS to create a sensory garden in the King George V Park, are being considered again, following an appeal from a local resident. The plans for a park space for those with sensory needs were put on hold by councillors at the start of this year.

The sensory garden has been on the town council’s agenda since 2019 and was due to be a space filled with scented and colourful plants, an accessible path, and the refurbishment of the millennium mosaic, which is currently in storage.

In 2019, the project’s budget started at £25,000. In further plans a budget of up to £80,000 was suggested and at the start of this year, the town council put the plans on hold until a clearer proposal was created and groundwork issues addressed. There was then a discussion about whether to encourage the community to use the Friends’ Garden located on King Street as an alternative to the sensory garden being created.

Appealing for a sensory garden to be created at the full town council meeting on Monday 27th February, David Walker, a Melksham Carers’ Champion and former carer said, “In 2018/19 I was asked to be part of the working party to discuss the creation of a sensory garden to be developed in the King George V park, on the stretch of the park bordering the road. I was asked to be part of this based on my experience as a carer for someone with dementia and because I created a memory sensory garden for my late wife, Georgina, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2012.

“The working party included a wide range of individuals, for whom such an amenity would be a valuable asset to their enjoyment of the park and the community.

“In addition to providing an amenity for all Melksham residents, the group considered how the garden could more specifically benefit the residents who are physically disabled, visually impaired or have mental or emotional health concerns and included input from a nearby school. Due to Covid, further activity was put on hold.

“As an unpaid carer, I know how much enjoyment our memory sensory garden gave to my late wife and me, our children and our grandchildren, especially as Georgina’s condition deteriorated. I also know how difficult it is for all carers to provide mental, emotional and physical stimulation for the person they care for and for themselves.

“The proposed sensory garden (at King George V park) is nothing more than what they and the residents of Melksham deserve. I strongly believe that not to approve this project would be a disserve to the residents of Melksham and I ask that the council support the plans and approve it.”

Cllr Tom Price said, “This has come to council a few times now and obviously it is time for us to make a real decision about what we are going to do. I spoke to Adrienne [Westbrook] over the weekend to get some clarity about the birth of it, when it started back in 2019. I feel that since then, we as a council have blown these plans out of what they need to be. It was £20,000, with a couple of benches, a couple of picnic tables, some lovely wildflowers and that was pretty much all it was. To have a nice shaded area to have a picnic and wander through the park. I really think we should go back to that. I personally think the budget was looking at £80,000. At the time I may have agreed to it, but there is no way that I could accept that for the sensory garden now. A lot smaller budget, absolutely, and I think we should get on with it and get it completed this year.”

Cllr Jon Hubbard said, “I had to admit my recollection of the original sensory garden is that it would be bigger than a few benches. The original budgeting figure was around £25,000 for what the sensory garden would be.

“I think it would be a real shame if we walked away from delivering that. We made a promise to the people of Melksham and I think we should do that. Although there are challenges with the implementation of it there, we need to find ways of working around those challenges. We need to be inventive, we need to be intuitive and we need to be pragmatic but most of all, we need to deliver.

“I worry about chucking in a few wildflowers and benches and saying ‘there you go, there’s a sensory garden’, that’s not a sensory garden. If you look at the original designs and material which came with it, which was costed, it was far more exciting and far more ambitious and would have delivered a lot. Whilst prices have risen, I don’t think it’s beyond the realms of reality for us to be able to do what was originally costed to be done. I will be really sad it we end up delivering less. This council has just talked big and done little and this will just be another example of that.”

Cllr Saffi Rabey said, “I agree with cllr Hubbard. If we are going to do this, let’s do it properly. I think it would be a massive disservice if we go in half-heartedly.”

Melksham’s mayor cllr Simon Crundell said, “We have had a plan for this. It was promised by the last council. We have confirmed we will deliver upon it. If we have a costed plan of £25,000 I propose we follow the original costed plan, and for the operations manager [Hugh Davis] to look at what can be delivered this year, and building on that, with recognising there may be things we need to deliver next year, or the year after. Get started with the core of the sensory garden and build upon that.”

Melksham Town Council’s head of operations will now look into delivering this in a two-phased process, incorporating designs created by the town council and Wiltshire Wildlife Trust in 2019, putting the project out to tender for contractors to take on the work.