The garden design, developed by garden designer David Steadman, connects to the local heritage and meets the needs of local residents.

Designing a garden for all

The new wellbeing garden includes raised beds and wide paths to ensure people with access needs can get stuck into caring for the garden. Other highlights include fruit trees, vegetable plants, bug hotels and a kid’s den.

Chelmsford is known as the birthplace of radio after Marconi opened the world’s first wireless factory in the town in 1899. Radio waves therefore serve as a powerful metaphor for the hub’s connection to the community and its potential for outreach and connectivity. Like radio waves extending their influence, the garden design radiates outwards from a central point, with the hope of positively impacting the lives of services users.

Philip is one of the gardening club members who will be responsible for maintaining the garden, alongside the grounds maintenance team. Philip says:

“Gardens have always helped humans to feel and do better in the world. There’s something deeply primal about cultivating the soil. The benefits of gardening are many; from meeting new people, to learning to grow our own food, exchanging ideas and producing healthier meals for yourself.”

Growing food was vitally important to local residents, due to food insecurity during the cost-of-living crisis. Any fruit or vegetables grown will be available for gardening club members to take home, as well as stocking the community fridge for anyone to help themselves too for free.

Louis Langenberg, RHS Community Outreach Advisor, who provides horticultural workshops and guidance to the gardening club, says:

“Being involved at CHP Parkside has been a fulfilling and humbling experience. I have had the opportunity to meet and teach lots of local people, as well as helping them to realise their ambitions to create a garden they can use for years to come.”

Ashley Watson, CHP Community Investment Coordinator, says:

“We’re really pleased that we’ve had the chance to have our garden transformed. We’re grateful for all of the work done by the RHS staff who made this possible and I’m excited to see the positive impact it’ll have on everyone who visits.”

The CHP Parkside Hub Community Garden is one of six gardens being built around England in collaboration with the NHS Properties Services. Service users have been involved with the designs to ensure the gardens address each site's individual needs.

Funded by NHS Property Services’ Corporate Social Responsibility department, the gardens aim to improve the biodiversity of community-based centres, while also creating outdoor spaces suitable for green social prescribing and other therapeutic treatment. This programme is funded separately from funding used for frontline care.

Visit our funding pages to find out how you can contribute to future NHS wellbeing gardens.