Harrogate gardening charity installs two new polytunnels thanks to generous £4,821 grant from Banks Community Fund

Horticap provides opportunities for adults with learning and other disabilities to get hands-on training in activities such as garden maintenance, horticulture and crafts, through which they can also develop and improve their social and personal skills alongside their gardening knowledge.

The charity has previously had three polytunnels in the garden at the Bluecoat Wood Nurseries, off Otley Road, in the town, which have been well used by students for many years, but which had reached the end of their working lives and had to be taken out of use.

A £4,821 grant from developer the Banks Group has now enabled Horticap to bring in two new 56 feet long polytunnels, which are significantly higher than their predecessors and which therefore provide a better working and growing environment.

The level of the ground on which they will sit is also being raised and new drainage put in place to address problems with waterlogging that have been experienced in previous years.

The first new polytunnel is now in place, with the second one set to follow soon, and Horticap is expecting that they will come into use in the autumn.

Phil Airey, Assistant Manager at Horticap, said: “We use horticulture as an educational tool and provide a supportive and friendly working environment in which our students can develop their social and communication abilities.

“The polytunnels have been an important part of this over the years, but they’d gone beyond the point of no return and we’ve been looking at how we might replace them.

“The new polytunnels provide better protection from both the sun and the snow, while the green mesh that covers them allow for air to circulate more freely than before, which provides both a better working and growing environment.

“The extra height they offer will make them a more comfortable place for our students and staff to spend their time, while raising the ground level should resolve the waterlogging issues we’ve faced in the past."

It’s the second time that funding from the Banks Group has supported Horticap’s work, with a £5,000 grant given in 2021 allowing the charity to revamp its popular nature trail.

Additional seating areas, new pond screening and interpretative boards were placed around the trail, while a new sunken garden was also created to provide a social space that is now well used by visiting schools and community groups.

Horticap currently has around 55 adults with different disabilities on its books, almost all of whom live across the Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon area, and is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Phil Airey added: “The improvements that Banks’ previous grant helped us to make to our nature trail had a tremendous impact and we get many more visitors coming to spend time with us as a result.

“This latest funding has allowed us to bring the new polytunnels in much more quickly than would otherwise have been possible and we’re very grateful for their continuing support.”

Kate Culverhouse, Community Relations Manager at The Banks Group, added: “Horticap makes a tremendous difference to the well-being of its students, with the personal skills they’re developing being useful to them through their whole lives.

“It’s great to see how much of a difference our previous grant made to their nature trail and we hope there’ll be just as positive an impact following from this latest project.”

Anyone from a community close to a Banks Group project who is interested in applying for funding from the Banks Community Fund should visit www.banksgroup.co.uk/contact-us/ to find out if their group or project is eligible.