Spades in the ground as plans for Cherry Tree Lane community garden take step forward

The Crown Estate and Sunnyside Rural Trust are making good progress with delivering a new community garden at Cherry Tree Lane in Hemel Hempstead, having begun work on site this week.

The new community garden is located on an area of land owned by The Crown Estate bound by Redbourn Road to the north, Cherry Tree Lane to the east, the Nickey Line to the south and Britannia Close and Phoenix Walk to the west.

The work includes planting and landscaping, as well as the construction of new and accessible entrance points from the north of the site as well as from the Nickey Line.

Once complete, the community garden will become a place for local residents to enjoy – boosting physical and mental wellbeing, as well as providing new habitats for local wildlife and improving biodiversity.

The proposals for the community garden were granted planning permission from St Albans City & District Council in November 2024 (application reference 5/2024/1552), following a series of public engagement events in July 2024 which helped to refine and shape the vision for the site.

The community garden – which forms a part of The Crown Estate’s wider vision for East Hemel – is expected to be completed in the autumn 2025.