Housing association helps transform garden at Telford mosque 'for the good of the community'

Wrekin Housing Group and KRM Contractors have transformed the garden at Telford Central Mosque in King Street, Wellington.

Wrekin, which provides 'affordable' homes for more than 28,000 people across Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire and Staffordshire, worked with KRM to overhaul the space and upgrade the garden.

The space is now being enjoyed by community members and volunteers for a wide range of uses, including a gardening club and wellbeing activities.

The area was cleared by members of Wrekin’s ground maintenance team whilst KRM Contractors donated its time and materials to install a canopy.

The work has been carried out as part of Wrekin’s 'social value offer' as it is currently developing two multi-million pound affordable housing schemes in Wellington.

Wrekin is working in partnership with Telford & Wrekin Council, Homes England, The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Lovell as part of a £16m regeneration project at High Street that will include 67 new affordable homes.

Work is also underway to build 76 new affordable homes for older people at the site of the former New College, opposite the mosque.

Enise Goring-Piskin is a Wrekin tenant who attends Telford Central Mosque. She said: “I’m so pleased by this wonderful development which will enable much more use of the garden for so many groups of people in all weathers.

“The canopy will help develop the garden for the good of the community and local wildlife.

"Our next step is to plant some climbing plants to grow up around the columns and to lay a deck on the ground.

"All the people I have talked to are very grateful to and impressed by Wrekin and KRM’s significant contribution to the welfare of our community.”

Sam Hine, social value and inclusion manager at Wrekin, said: “It’s great to see our contractors giving something back to the community.

"We always try to ensure social value from our developments and work with all our contractors and the local community to see what we can collectively offer.

“KRM have gone above and beyond and have given hours of free labour and thousands of pounds' worth of materials to create this garden which everyone is delighted with.

“Good-quality outdoor space boosts mental and physical wellbeing. The work ourselves and KRM have carried out will open the door to a range of fulfilling activities for the local community and will provide a calming space for them to spend time. We’re excited to see the difference this makes.”

Alan Rumbles, KRM director, said: “It is always extremely rewarding to help local causes and it is nice to put something back in to the community where we are working.

"We take a great pride in our work and it is nice to see that by working together with partners like Wrekin, we can deliver wider benefits for local people.”