AN ALLEY once plagued with anti-social behaviour has been given a lick of paint by volunteers in Ellesmere Port.
Cheshire West and Chester Council, working with local community project Port Reach, students from University Church of England Academy and Ellesmere Port Catholic High School and local residents have come together to tackle two community projects.
To commemorate the 21st anniversary of the Port Arcades in the town, volunteers painted three large boards with scenes from the past, present and future of the arcades, which will now hang in the building’s main entrance.
Engage 2012 project volunteers also worked with residents of Enfield Road, which has recently benefited from alley gates, who had started brightening their now-gated alley with flowers and vegetables.
The group whitewashed walls, made flower planters and painted benches, aiming to create a community garden which can be cared for and enjoyed by the residents.
Local member Cllr Justin Madders said: “It’s great to see people from a community come together to make a difference to an area and make sure that things don’t just get talked about, they actually happen.
“Everyone worked hard to create what will be the town’s first alleyway garden and I think their hard work has been rewarded with a fantastic community area – I look forward to seeing it completed over the next few months as the flowers start to bloom.”
Port Reach, run by community group Christians Together in the Port, has organised the Engage project for the last two years – carrying out schemes for the benefit of local residents.
If you would like more information on Engage projects or if you know of a community project the team could tackle, email engage@portreach.co.uk or contact Cheshire West and Chester Council’s safer stronger partnership officer Joanne Byrne by emailing joanne.byrne@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk.
