News – 11 February 2022
We’ve teamed up with a Biggleswade nursery to brighten up the local community with a gardening project.
Children at Busy Bees nursery rolled up their sleeves and showed their green fingers to plant herbs and flowers at one of our most anticipated developments.
The tots teamed up with our Community Investment team and constructors The Hill Group for the project, who also provided handmade, recycled planters. We’re building a development across the road from Busy Bees, set to provide Extra Care apartments for the over 55s.
The gardening project aimed to sow the seeds for a lasting connection between Busy Bees and the Extra Care scheme, Sorrel Gardens. The nursery has already had a heavy involvement in the development, with the children providing artwork to be displayed on the hoarding.
Karen Nicholson, Community Investment Manager at Grand Union, said: “The benefits of intergenerational work are clearly evidenced and are working with Hill and Busy Bees. I am really excited to see how we can develop more intergenerational projects between our customers living in Sorrel Gardens and the children at the nursery.”
Mick Clarke, Site Manager at Hill, added: “Creating social value to the local community is a passion for us at Hill. This project to provide recycled planters for the children at Busy Bees has been a wonderful way to offer the children something educational and experimental, teaching them the joy of growing something from seed.”
Laura Howard, Assistant Centre Director at Busy Bees Biggleswade Saxon Centre, said: “We are honoured to be able to have the opportunity to work with Grand Union Housing Group and the Hill Group to make a difference in the community.
“As a centre, we want to be able to help use recycled wood and make amazing projects out of these. It’s great to teach the children about the community and how we can help others around us. The children really enjoyed helping plant the flowers and herbs and we are all very proud of them.”
Work is well underway to finish Sorrel Gardens – with 93 apartments for those over 55 with an identified care need, 68 of which will be for social rent and 25 for shared ownership sale. It’s part of Grand Union’s mission to build more homes, stronger communities, better lives.
