New ‘pocket’ park to open

The once abandoned grounds of a Hackney estate will be given a makeover thanks to a £90,000 cash boost.

Residents contributed ideas for how to revamp the outside area of the Trelawney Estate, in Morning Lane, and work is now underway to transform the space into one of 100 ‘Pocket Parks’, providing trees and greenery to built-up urban areas.

The new pocket park will provide outdoor seating, gardening opportunities for the community to get involved in and an increase in food and habitat for the wildlife in the area.

The planting scheme and overall design of the new space also draws upon the horticultural history of the site as the location of the former Loddiges Nursery - the foremost plant nursery in London from the late eighteenth century until the middle of nineteenth century, which featured the largest hot house in the world at the time with an unrivalled collection of palms, orchids and ferns that helped influence planting in the rest of the UK.

The Pocket Park is due to be completed at the end of June.

The project was funded by the GLA and was match-funded by Hackney Council.