Transition Town Wellington (TTW) and Wellington Mills CIC are delighted with the response to the first community consultation event on the Fox’s Field project.

More than 60 people took part in a Zoom conference call, which generated ideas, conversations and offers of help.

One participant said: “This is great – Wellington has such a skilled and enthusiastic community.” Another described it as an “absolutely brilliant first consultation for this wonderful opportunity!”

The project aims to protect, regenerate and restore Fox’s Field, next to Tonedale Mill, as an open green space for the community.

Some 7,500 fliers were delivered to almost every household in Wellington and the suggestion boxes around town – in the Blue Pantry, the One Stop Shop at Tonedale and in Fox’s Field itself – are overflowing with completed forms.

Anyone who has not yet sent in their ideas can still do so by filling in the ‘Comments and Ideas’ form digitally at https://www.survey monkey.co.uk/r/9R2PL6C.

This first consultation period closes on Saturday, April 10.

The ideas will be collated to develop plans for people and wildlife. One idea attracting interest is for a forest garden on part of the site. This would emulate a woodland edge-type habitat with a patchwork of open spaces, canopy trees, understory shrubs, ground-cover and climbing plants.

It could be attractive, provide a useful harvest and an ideal habitat for pollinators, birds and other wildlife. It would also be somewhere which would allow the community to enjoy a beautiful, calm, natural space.

Other ideas are warmly welcomed and more consultation events will take place over the coming months, details of which will be posted on TTW and Wellington Mills CIC websites and Facebook pages.

Funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, distributed by Transition Network, has helped with the first phase of consultation Fox’s Field.