South West Water helps to improve community garden space for Plymouth residents with new water butts

A community garden in Plymouth has been given a new lease of life and is now flourishing, thanks in part to support from South West Water.

The garden, located near Flora Street and Devonshire House, previously had no access to an outdoor water supply, making it difficult and costly for residents and volunteers to maintain flowers, plants and trees in the shared green space.

Thanks to a collaborative effort from The Friends of Flora House, St Peter’s School, Plymouth Community Homes, Plymouth City Council and South West Water, it now has a sustainable rainwater supply.

After seeing that land outside Flora House was dilapidated and overgrown, The Friends of Flora House contacted Plymouth City Council. The council supported them in approaching St Peter’s School, who kindly donated the green space for community use.

Councillor Alison Raynsford then reached out to South West Water who donated water butts to support the project.

“With the help of Plymouth Community Homes, residents now have access to water and their gardens are growing,” Councillor Raynsford said. “It was good to be able to bring all the groups together for a successful outcome.”

The Friends of Flora House transformed the space with support from Plymouth Community Homes who supplied the materials and coordinated installation of the water butts, and local contractor, Chris Miller, from 1st Choice Cleaning & Property Maintenance Services carried out the fitting free of charge.

Daniel O’Brien, a resident at Flora Street, who helped to start the community garden project in 2023, said the water butts have made “a massive difference” to the space.

“The water butts are great. They’ve helped more people from outside the immediate area, especially families with children, to get involved in the community group without worrying about bringing water," Daniel said.

“It’s made the site more accessible and allowed the gardens to really thrive. We’ve even had sunflowers growing tall enough for the children at the school nearby to see them peeking over the wall, which is wonderful.”

Sarah Sharpe, from  South West Water, said: “We’re always proud to support community projects that promote sustainability and bring people together.

“Providing a simple solution like rainwater collection can make a real, lasting difference, and it’s fantastic to see how this garden has become a shared space for local residents to enjoy. It’s a great example of what can be achieved through partnership and local initiative.”

A spokesperson from Plymouth Community Homes added: “We are proud to support such a community-driven idea that has now given the communal garden spaces access to water, allowing the gardens and community spirit to now flourish.

“Thank you to everyone involved and we can't wait to see the gardens bloom over the years.”

For more information about The Flora House Friends click here.