THE EAGLES HOTEL COMMUNITY ALLOTMENT, MEETING ROOM AND CAFÉ
CORWEN, DENBIGHSHIRE. LL21 0DG
APPLICANT AND BACKGROUND
Lesley and Keith Hughes are the licensees and owners of the Eagles Hotel in Corwen which is located in south Denbighshire at the western end of the Dee Valley at the foot of the Berwyn Mountains. Corwen is a small town on the A5 between Llangollen and Betws-Y-Coed and has all key services including Bank, shops, Post Office, takeaways and 3 other pubs. The licensees have owned the pub for over four years and are well established in the community, running charity events, and children’s and pensioners Christmas parties for the town.
Lesley was inspired after watching TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's "Landshare" project, in which the creation of allotments on unused areas of land provide local people with the opportunity to grow their own food. In addition to the allotment, Lesley wanted to convert a redundant building at the rear of the pub into a facility that would allow children to cook and eat the fruit and vegetables that they have grown.
PROJECT SUMMARY
Once Lesley had the idea, she gathered a wide range of local support from the community council, the Women’s Institute, the sheltered housing association, the primary school and other clubs organisations, who were keen to support the proposal. Pub is the Hub became involved when Lesley approached Cadwyn Clwyd to assist with the development of the project and help in securing funding.
The community garden and allotment was created in an over grown area to the rear of the pub and the community room was created out of an old outbuilding. The garden has raised beds and sensory planters with easy access for the disabled and elderly, which will bring all ages together from the town. The community room / cafe will be available for community use to local societies, with activities to include gardening, knitting clubs, and pensioner’s lunches. It will act as a class room for when the school is on site, and it will operate as a cafe at the weekends promoting healthy eating using produce from the garden. It is envisaged that the allotment and the cafe will complement one another and show to all that healthy eating is achievable on a budget whilst allowing children to get their hands dirty and take charge of the growing.
OUTCOMES
Local families and children are able to grow their own seasonal produce, and learn about nutritional values and easy recipes that can be cooked for all the family in the small café and community room. Old and young people have formed a gardening club, working together to grow plants, fruit and vegetables. The young people are helping older people with the physical work and older people are sharing their expertise on growing produce. Everyone is encouraged to come along and get involved.
The allotment and community room working together should be an effective way to help people improve their health: boost physical activity levels through gardening; and encourage people to grow and eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. The garden has been designed to create access for all with special regard to older and disabled people, and has improved an unused green space, bringing it back into use for the benefit of the whole community.
LESSONS TO LEARN
- It is important to gather wide-ranging support from across the community.
- Involving others shares the workload and brings in plenty of good ideas.
- A clear vision is required from the licensee on such a complex project.
- There is a variety of free expertise from local authorities and other public sector organisations to help get this type of project underway.
PROJECT CAPITAL COSTS
N/A
LICENSEE CONTACT
Lesley Hughes Tel. 01490 413280
