A POP-up garden made of reused materials in Maindee has had a positive reaction from residents in the area.
The garden in Chepstow Road car park was planted by Maindee Unlimited and Newport Makerspace two weeks ago to create more greenery in the Maindee area.
And the garden, along with Maindee triangle, is a huge hit with local business owners and residents in the area, especially those who do not have a garden.
The pop-up garden on chepstow road in maindee
Tariq Ali, from Newport, runs the Newport fruit and veg shop next to the triangle and is delighted to have green space in Maindee.
He said: “It’s nice and eye catching. I think it’s a great idea because this was quite dead but with all this we have seen people gather to enjoy the garden.
“We have had little concerts in the triangle, children have enjoyed the space for a little bit of activity to play about.
“We are just waiting for the café to open and once it opens it will be a nice little centre point for the Maindee area.
“The concerts have been lively, and we have had street play. We do our bit as residents also, it will bring about more customers and its better for the community.”
As well as the garden, Maindee unlimited have leased the land opposite the library on Chepstow Road for 99 years, securing the land for the community's future.
Ruth Essex with Maindee residents Tariq Ali and Sohail Mukcal at the maindee triangle
The former toilet block will host new public toilets and a small community café.
Alison Starling, treasurer of Maindee Unlimited, told the Argus her plans for the building in the triangle.
She said: “Maindee Unlimited selected several people that applied to tender for the café. The person who was chosen, we believe, is community-minded and it will be a space for the community.
“We are hoping to use the space for community events, markets, with a Christmas market hopefully going to be the next one.
“We are meeting with the library, so the connection works really well.”
The stage at Maindee triangle which has been used for live music and bands
Project lead Ruth Essex, who has been working with Maindee Unlimited, doesn’t plan to stop there as she wants to introduce safe street play to Livingstone Place, which is next to the triangle, for children to play on their street.
She said: “We built the stage area for people to have live music, small bands and we have also got next door in Livingstone place the street area that we are trying to increase use for street play.
“The families in the street have very little open space, everyone has small gardens, and as it’s a cul-de-sac so we have tried to have small community events.
“For people to come out and sit on the street and create space for kids to play ties in nicely with this garden spreading to the street a bit.
“Because of the lack of green space in Maindee, that also represents a lack of open space for play particularly in this area of Chepstow Road.
“There is very little for families with young children, so we are looking for the opportunities on residential streets for places to play.
“We have plans to explore more residential areas for street play which is a big movement in the UK where you can temporary close a street on a regular basis once a month.
“We want to make the streets more play friendly as kids love using chalk on the ground, kicking a ball and we want to bring back some of the culture of streetplay.”
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