A BEDWORTH housebuilder has donated £500 to help fund the installation of new gates an local allotments.
Bellway West Midlands, which are building 169 new homes at Astley Fields made the contribution to help the group towards its £2,000 target for new gates.
Smorrall Community Allotments applied for a grant from Warwickshire County Council for new gates after two vandalism attacks where the fencing was smashed.
The group were given £1,000 grant from the council and had to find the other half.
Bespoke metal gates have been ordered for the entrance to the allotments.
Lee Walker, chairman of the Smorrall Lane Community Allotments Society, said: “We were initially disappointed to be £1,000 short of the total which would enable us to buy a new set of gates and contacted Bellway to see if they could help.
“Bellway proved to be a caring local company and raised our spirits and our total, leaving us confident we can find the remaining £500.
“The new gates will represent a massive improvement in two ways – firstly, they are higher than the old gates and should present a better deterrent to vandals and secondly, they will be much more accessible to our members.
“A lot of our members are elderly and some have mobility issues, so having a set of gates that opens in the middle rather than one long, very heavy gate will make it easier for them to enter the site.”
The society was established 45 years ago and has 55 members aged between 20 and 82 – the group invites school trips to the allotments and makes donations of produce to Bedworth Foodbank.
Marie Richards, sales director for Bellway, said: “When we were approached by Lee, we were more than happy to donate £500 to help get the society get closer to their total of £2,000.
“These allotments are a valuable resource for the local community and a place where people of all ages can socialise as well as getting fresh air and exercise and growing their own food.
“It is sad to hear that vandals have struck at the allotments and we hope the new gates will help protect the site in future.”
