..to want to turn terrace back alley into a community garden?

[missbunnyrabbit]

I live in a row of Victorian terraces with another row behind me. In between our yards is a cobbled back alley. At the moment it is full of weeds and grass between the cobbles, bits of rubbish, and a big crate from someone's old building work. We use the alley for our bins, but no vehicles ever go down there.

I have this dream of giving it a tidy and planting things there. Some small trees going down the middle, little flowers or shrubs by the edges. Turn it into a place that will attract birds and insects etc.

I feel like if I wrote to the council, or neighbours, they wouldn't want it to happen and that would shut it all down. Then if I tried anything, they'd know it was me and I'd get into trouble/hated by neighbours.

I can't think of any disadvantages, I don't think it would obstruct anything, though I'd have to remove some cobbles here and there to be able to plant trees and plants. But it would create a nice view out of our back windows and would be a nice passage to walk down [I do see the occasional person walking down it].

So WIBU to, under the cover of darkness, become a secret community gardener and turn this alley into a wildlife haven? Or is it unreasonable to do without neighbours' and councils' permission. I'm happy to do it all myself.

I think Sunny Alley is great because the residents obviously love it and get a lot of pleasure from it. The local wildlife will be very thankful too because they have planted a lot of insect friendly plants.

I used to live somewhere where someone decided to spruce it up with plants but subsequently wasn't able to keep up with it, then later moved. The area became completely unusable because the bushes etc were big enough to stop bin access. Eventually damage from climbers cause building problems and residents had to pay to get the whole lot torched

We all got blamed for not contributing, to a project we never agreed to

Planting trees is a madness when you have no way of regulating their growth. Sure they might be nice for a couple of years but could quickly cause a problem.

I would also be annoyed if someone "took over" the back space of my house. I appreciate there is a crate their now, but lots of plant pots to dodge the bins around is also clutter

You should contact your local councillor and explain your ideas, you’ll probably find they’ll be supportive.
My friend and I started a community gardening project which has gathered pace and support and the area we live in is starting to look great.
Go for it!!

[quote Hdhdjejdj]@VaguelyInteresting I have no actual interest in your house. It’s just strange you don’t understand why others, including the OP would want to make the most of the outdoor space they have.[/quote]
The space doesn't belong to the OP, it's owned and probably used by council. You can't just block areas without consulting them first.

You keep talking about planting trees-don’t do this!

Tidy it up, yes, but that’s about it.

I presume people will still keep their bins in the alley?

The council won’t care if you tidy up an alley and spruce it up.

In my area, the council (and more specifically the contractors who manage street cleaning) are very much in favour of “guerrilla” gardening - although they say it’s not guerrilla gardening, just gardening - as it leads to less littering and dumping. They even provide materials and small grants to build street planters.

As others have said, it’s not a community garden if you don’t get your neighbours on board. Once you have, speak to the council and look at the RHS community gardening website for ideas.