Last updated at 12:46, Friday, 08 March 2013

A plan for a community garden behind homes on Workington’s Westfield estate will not now go ahead.

Social landlord Derwent & Solway Housing Association withdrew its plan following a meeting with more than 30 local people on Wednesday night.

It had been given permission last month to create the garden on scrubland off Garth Road.

But residents said they feared it would encourage anti-social behaviour, increase traffic and compromise their privacy.

Ben Brinicombe, of Derwent & Solway, said: “It was done with the best of intentions for local people. The last thing, as an organisation, we want to do is fight with the community.

“With the strength of feeling, we will be recommending we do something different with another piece of land.

“We won’t be doing anything in Westfield.”

Wendy O’Neil, 49, of Garth Road, told the meeting: “I do not want this. I don’t care if you put diamond encrusted sheds on it, I do not want these plans coming into place.

“You are changing the quality of our life and our peaceful existence.”

Following the decision, Mrs O’Neil said: “It shows that by standing together as a community and as a group of residents we have got the desired outcome that we wanted. We wish the project well in other sites and hope it’s a success.”

Derwent & Solway took over the community gardens project from the South Workington Partnership when that disbanded.

The project won more than £270,000 from the Big Lottery and similar projects at Hillary Close in Salterbeck and Wastwater Avenue in Moorclose were given the go-ahead by Allerdale council last year.

First published at 12:44, Friday, 08 March 2013
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk