Shropshire Highways partners transform garden at Barnabas Community Church, Shrewsbury
The garden after completion of the work
The Barnabas Community Church’s 360 garden in Shrewsbury has been transformed thanks to Shropshire Council and its highways partners Kier and Multevo.
Barnabas Community Church is home to foodbank PLUS, which incorporates a range of essential support services for clients in Shrewsbury. This includes Shrewsbury Food Bank and their unique 360 initiatives where they host a range of activities with the aim to help form relationships through building self confidence and self-esteem.
Multevo supported foodbank PLUS with transforming the 360 back garden, one of the charity’s projects which teaches clients basic gardening and woodwork skills. The garden is situated next to the River Severn and is liable to yearly flooding, which over the years has worn the gravelled surface and disabled access path.
Multevo’s team worked hard to completely transform the garden by excavating the worn and uneven surface and replacing with fresh tarmac, kerbings, and edgings to make the space more accessible and safer for visitors.
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Jason Sapsford, highways operations manager at Kier, started the liaison with Barnabas Community Church to establish the project requirements, and then engaged Multevo as a partner to deliver this fantastic social values project for the community.
Commenting on the project, Jason said:
“I was totally committed to supporting Barnabas Community Church and the great work they are undertaking within the community with such passion and pride”
“Multevo exceeded all expectations, and the project was completed within a week. I know this will now allow the disabled members at the community centre to tend to the gardens with ease and the quality work will be in use for years to come which is absolutely fantastic.”
Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways, said
“A major part of the contracts we award is the social value element, including this fantastic project at the Barnabas Community Church.
“Huge thanks go to Keir and Multevo for the work they have done to turn this facility into a fantastic place for the people who need it.”
Karen Williams, Project Lead at foodbank PLUS:
“I’d like to thank Multevo, Kier and Shropshire Council for allowing us to use your staff and materials to tidy up this area. The area is now fixed and a level surface, making it much safer and wheelchair accessible for our clients. It’s going to make a massive difference to way we deliver 360 back garden.”
Multevo joined the Shropshire Highways alliance as a supply chain partner back in March 2021, supporting Shropshire Council, Kier Highways and WSP with highways maintenance and traffic management services, with over 80 people dedicated to the contract locally.
Since then, they have been collaboratively transforming the local network, with over 180,000 square metres of permanent repairs carried out utilising the productive Multihog machine.
The local contractor’s ‘committed to communities’ ethos ensures they work closely with their clients to deliver social value projects that benefit the specific needs of the communities they work in.
