Wellington Station ‘secret garden’ created by volunteers

An exciting ‘secret garden’ at Wellington railway station has been created and now volunteers are on the quest for funding to buy plants.

The Friends of Wellington Station group has developed the innovative project, which will be a haven for wildlife as well as providing a ‘green sanctuary’ for visitors and travellers.

“This is great news for us as we have been planning this special garden for a long time,” said Councillor Julie Pierce, one of the volunteers who began clearing the 40-metre long area on platform three of the station last year.

The area was previously an abandoned swathe of land which had been neglected for several years, encouraging anti social behaviour.

“As the station really is the gateway to Wellington, we were keen to make a garden which creates a lasting first impression of the town.

“With the help of local contractor Pryce Builders and Telford & Wrekin Council’s architect and construction team we have now created an amazing space, which we hope will eventually include bee and bird-friendly wildflowers and plants, a bug hotel and butterfly feeding station, as well as seats and information about walking routes around Wellington.

“The hard landscaping has been completed and we are now looking for businesses, residents and groups to get on board when they see the potential of the project, which is creating a special place at Wellington Station.

“We are looking for people to sponsor raised beds or provide donations which we can use to buy plants,” Julie added.

There will be an official opening of the garden in September but in the meantime, the volunteers are keen to get on with the planting. They have set up a crowdfunding site where people can donate money for plants.

The garden was financed from a £45,000 grant from West Midlands Railways ‘Your Community, Your Fund’ as part of a new project called the Wellington Ways, which has also seen new signage to promote walking and cycling routes installed.

Funding of the grant was matched through volunteer labour from the Friends of Wellington Station and project management from Telford and Wrekin Council.