SOS - Nightingale Community Garden Needs You !

Community garden experiences wildfire, no water, no budget yet Council spends 47K to impose inappropriate sculptures with 4 ft concreted rods, piecing the pond our heart of this beautiful biodiverse space all against locals wishes - please help local voices be heard🙏 sign up today we need you 

The original bid was to delight and bring in and increase visitors to the recreational grounds where the sculptures will be seen by all.

Why is the authority going against the original bid, commissioning process and building them into in our community garden against locals wishes.

Help us to have our voices heard - Authority please please put the sculptures in their original site in the recreational grounds which is open to all.

Not in our beautiful biodiverse wildflower garden🦋🐞🐝🐛which currently has accessibility for all embedded in every path and flower bed, currently all routes through the community garden are able to be accessed and safely gardened by all members of our community.

Council spending 47 K on sculptures when a community garden run by local volunteers (with no budget) for everyone to enjoy desperately needs water butts following a wild fire, fencing due to illegal night time parties, that has graffiti, vandalism to address,  have requested  an accessible garden gate for over a decade. We ask why do the Authorities want to impose 4/6 up to 2 meter high sculptures (2nd below) when the community for over a decade have said no to installations as the community garden has always been committed to keep access as its 1st priority?

CURRENT COMMUNITY GARDEN

 

Artist impression 47k imposed sculptures.

Our beloved Nightingale Community Garden is a short stroll for patients and our precious NHS staff at Rosie, Papworth and Addenbrooke's hospitals in Cambridge and has provided a sanctuary for both them and myself for over a decade—a magical space where beauty and biodiversity thrive. It all began when I was a participant in a disability support service initiative to build a biodiverse garden from a disused old bowling green. I am immensely proud to now be part of the team running it, what a turn up for the books!

For those of us who cherish every moment spent amidst the wildflowers, birds, bees, and butterflies, the garden serves as a peaceful escape from the stresses of daily life. It's where I enjoy traveling through freely, with inclusivity and wheelchair accessibility at its core and our pond is our heart. So why would you piece the pond with a concrete post for a sculpture this will damage the lining and mean the pond lives no more. Artist impression of and additional sculpture they propose (below) which will piece and remove the pond and unbalance the delicate Eco system  in place.

 

 

Yet, the Council proposal of £47,000 of large sculptures within this precious space is so sad. This concrete and ceramic structure threatens to dominate our beautifully balanced ecosystem, creating visual clutter and obstructing our accessible pathways and gardening. Such an imposition disrupts the very essence of the garden—a haven for those seeking solace, inclusivity, and a peaceful place and for our hospital patients young and old to have a moment of quiet during tough times in their lives. No budget to clean, repair, maintain or deal with graffiti or vandalism.

We recognise the importance of art and community engagement, and we support art and sculptures when in the right setting. We wish them to be open to all not tucked away in our special place, to be seen by the majority visiting the rec but sadly this proposal means it would be locked away to the public from dusk to dawn. We want to see them enjoyed by those early morning joggers, dog walkers, people on the way to work etc. So, to achieve the Council's aim to delight and to bring in and increase visitors to the recreational ground, there is a simple solution, but our voices are not being heard. Just a meter away, not tucked away behind our community garden's high hedges and 8 foot gates there lies a suitable special tree lined open space, perfectly positioned to accommodate the sculptures within a new wildflower meadow and will not compromise the integrity of our cherished biodiverse space.

 In order to maintain and build a peaceful and harmonious environment, it is important not to bring in sculptures which could attract and add to the anti-social behaviour, fires, graffiti, vandalism, and drug-related issues that already occur to structures in this vital community place. By protecting the integrity of our garden and installing any new sculptures in appropriate locations just like the one outside the gates, or as a larger sculpture trail that complements our existing rec rather than compromises the community garden.  This will support and help mitigate these challenges supporting established  ongoing neighbourhood, Council and police efforts. The Council have said the sculptures do not need to be locked up and they can power wash any graffiti off, so they would be in a safe environment in this new tree lined space as a set of sculptures or as a trail to invite and delight visitors to our part of Cambridge.

We urge the Council to reconsider their current plans listen to over 2 1/2 years of residents views and acknowledge the heart and soul of our community is Nightingale Community Garden. Let's work together to enrich the area by positioning the sculpture in a tree lined wildflower meadow open space for all to appreciate, or as a larger sculpture trail that complements our existing rec rather than compromises the community garden.  

By signing this petition, you are advocating for the preservation of our community's magical retreat and ensuring it remains accessible and inclusive for all. Your support can influence a decision that respects both art and nature, fostering a community space we are all proud of.

SOS - Sign to get Authorities to LISTEN TO LOCALS🧏