Tips for creating a village hall community garden
07/23/2025
Community gardens are a great way to bring people of different ages and backgrounds together, providing opportunities for young and old alike to spend more time outdoors.
Many community gardens are led by volunteers looking to find innovative ways of encouraging local food growing, particularly in urban areas where land is limited. But there is also increasing national recognition of the benefits of community green space. A government fund launched earlier this year provides grants of up to £75,000 for green spaces such as kitchen gardens and community orchards.
Why have a community garden?
Community gardens can provide a host of physical, mental, social and environmental benefits. Recent studies have shown a link between gardening regularly and improved mental wellbeing and life satisfaction, particularly for older people and those with intellectual disabilities or mental health conditions.
Community gardens can also support biodiversity - providing habitats for a wide range of plant and animal life - as well as bringing wider environmental benefits, for example by helping to reduce ‘food miles’ - the distance between food being produced and consumed.
Getting inspired
There are some great examples of thriving community gardens up and down the country.
The Green Backyard, Peterborough
The Green Backyard started life on a derelict allotment site in 2009. It has since grown to include a community kitchen, a refillables shop, and a workshop space for local artists and other groups and individuals. The Green Backyard also runs events for the wider community, such as sculpture trails.
- See www.thegreenbackyard.com/about-us/
- Or visit the Green Backyard Facebook page
Hart’s Community Garden, Hampshire
Hart’s Community Garden, within Edenbrook Country Park in Fleet, was created through a collaboration between Hart District Council’s Countryside team and Hart Voluntary Action. It is a space where people of all ages and backgrounds can come together, to grow vegetables, fruits and flowers in raised beds and polytunnels. The garden also hosts a programme of events throughout the year, including creative workshops and wildlife talks.
Blaise Community Garden, Bristol
Blaise Community Garden was set up in 2013, within the grounds of the Blaise Castle Estate, near Henbury in Bristol. Because of its secluded location, it has been described as ‘Bristol’s secret garden’. Although primarily established as a haven for food growers, the garden also hosts a range of other events and activities, including a cafe and market.
Setting up a community garden - things to consider
While introducing a community garden within your village hall grounds could be a great way to bring different groups of people together, it’s important to be mindful of the potential challenges you might encounter at different stages.
Before you begin:
Many community gardens are built on the hard work of volunteers, so it is important to take sensible precautions to keep them safe.
- Proper use of tools: If you are letting volunteers use your organisation’s equipment, they should have training on how to use it safely and be given the correct protecting clothing to avoid injury. Also, ensure that hand tools and other equipment are stored securely after use
- Leave working at height to the professionals: Tree surgery and other tasks involving working at height may be best left for the professionals. Make sure that you have adequate public liability insurance in place and check that any contractors you are using have sufficient insurance cover of their own.
- Be careful with your design: You should consider any risks that your design may pose. For example, grounds should be level and easily accessible by different user groups, including the elderly and those with limited mobility and any secluded areas or access points should be well considered to avoid antisocial behaviour and criminal damage.
Once you’re up and running:
Precautions to take once you’ve established your community garden will vary, but it’s important to keep in mind the needs of different user groups, including vulnerable individuals.
- Risk assessments: Ensure you have risk assessments, inspections and maintenance plans in place. Note any garden features that could present increased risks such as loose paving or uneven pathways or ponds and other water features that could present a drowning hazard.
- Keep a record: Make sure that you document the steps you have taken to manage and mitigate risk in order to give you a better chance of defending your organisation in the event of a claim.
Need help?
If you're not sure how to go about creating a risk assessment, the Local Community Advisory Service (LCAS) Guide to Risk Management contains some useful tips as well as example risk assessments and templates.
Or, if you’ve got any questions about the content of this article, get in touch.
- Give us a call on: 0121 697 9131
- Emails us: zrs.enquiries@uk.zurich.com
