FRIENDS OF LIBRARY GARDEN STATEMENT: NSDC’s plans for the Library Garden

We’re sure some of you will have seen NSDC’s plans for the Library Garden, as reported in the press.

Firstly, we’d like to make it clear that our main point of contact with the council is Ben Stacey, who leads the Street Scene team in Newark and we have had regular meetings with him in the garden to discuss our various ideas for planting and the future of the garden. We haven’t spoken directly with councillors at NSDC at any time.

To explain the situation, we were presented with the new plans for the first time a week ago, shortly before they were made public. After seeing them, we wanted to take some time to digest them and discuss them as a group. We know that the garden may currently appear ‘messy’ with lots of long grasses and little colour but we’d like to point out that this is a long-term wild meadow plan rather than an ‘instant garden’. After a long-term dry spell, this is how wild meadows appear. In the future, there will be a lot more colour and interest. Many insects, bees and other wildlife have already been attracted to the garden and have been spotted in abundance.

As for NSDC’s plans for the garden, we think that they’re great and we’re pleased to see that the council have taken on the majority of our ideas. However, there is still a big question mark around the issue of water in the garden. There isn’t much point in only having water available during rainy weather. With drier, hotter summers being predicted, water needs to be available when it’s needed most.

At the moment, any planting we’ve done, we’ve had to water ourselves by hand. Not an easy task! But it isn’t just about what is put in the garden; maintenance is equally important. We’re hoping to have a meeting with NDSC soon to discuss this and other points before any final decision is made. In the meantime, the council has asked Newark residents and interested parties to submit their comments on the plans - and we hope that you’ll all take the time to do this here. It’s a very short survey with just three questions.

Visit the survey here. The deadline to respond is 12 August 2022.

We know how very special the Library Garden is to so many of you and we promise to continue to nurture it. Long live Newark’s urban wild space!

Friends of the Library Garden - dedicated volunteers who give their time to working with NSDC’s Street Scene team in order to nurture the Library Garden.