A group of people living in the terraced streets off Heslington Rd have been meeting together with Andy D’Agorne as their ward councillor to work out ways that they can make their back alleys more attractive community spaces.

Starting from the idea of bringing in more greenery including planters, plants on tops of back walls, benches and shrubs, discussion has quickly moved on to planning an ‘alley party’ as an alternative to street parties on the day of the royal wedding in May.

The group has already surveyed the street to find out how much support there is for their idea and identified residents who might want vehicle access along the route. They are now getting themselves a bank account so that they can apply for ward funding to help pay for plants and pots!

Already conversation has strayed into issues of cleaning up any fly tipping, organising activities for families, design competitions etc. Provisional name for the group is ‘Redfearn Alley Greening’ in recognition that the houses were built to house workers at the Redfearn glass factory which used to sit on the site of the Novotel.

Greening alleys