Urban Oasis

NAME Urban Oasis
LOCATION Apple Tree Court, Salford M5 4AY
MANAGING ORGANISATION Apple Tree Court Tenant Managed Company / Arid Lands & Sustainable Communities Trust (ALSCT)
CONTACT Betty Burton, Apple Tree Court Tenant Managed Company T. 0161 743 9233 / Tony Milroy, Arid Lands & Sustainable Communities Trust (ALSCT) T. 01422 843 807

USED TO BE…
Neglected and littered area of land at the base of a tower block

STORY
In the mid 1990s a fly-tipped space filled with abandoned bin bags greeted residents and visitors to Apple Tree Court.

Thoughts of a brighter future led residents to form a Tenants Association, and in 1993 they were granted the Right to Manage by the local council. Later that year the Arid Lands & Sustainable Communities Trust learnt of the residents’ plans and committed to making the project a joint venture. Arid Lands’ status as a charity enabled the partnership to develop step by step, and access charitable, business and public fund as the vision evolved.

NOW A…
Today it is a well used community space and thriving oasis garden. It includes vegetable gardens, an English fruit orchard, ponds, wildflower and woodland areas, a greenhouse, a community cafe and ornamental spaces for contemplation.

WHY IS IT SPECIAL?
In partnership with ALSCT, local businesses and agencies, the initiative has grown, empowering the community to improve its own environment through its own action.