Garden Tidy Scheme starts in Jesmond

This October marked the start up of an impressive scheme to smarten up the overgrown front gardens in Jesmond’s terraces. Most of the flats here are rented - many to students and other short term tenants.

After preparation for over a year, the Jesmond Residents’ Association (JRA) has teamed up with The Skill Mill (a local social enterprise) to offer a low cost programme to makeover many of the shockingly messy gardens which give an air of neglect to otherwise attractive terraces.

Recognising that a common concern of residents is the bad state of gardens in rented properties, the JRA searched for a suitable organisation which would offer a contract to landlords to improve and then maintain their garden at a flat rate they could afford. The Skill Mill fitted the bill as an organisation which delivers low cost environmental solutions and delivers a tangible social outcome.