A VOLUNTEER community group looking to bring a touch of the Good Life to Wellington has won the support of town councillors.

The Transition Town Wellington Sustainable Food Group is looking to make the area a more sustainable and lower carbon footprint community.

The group focuses on food and runs talks on growing vegetables and cooking, and is planting food-producing trees and bushes so people can forage healthy local food free of charge.

Volunteers are planning to buy and plant a range of trees, bushes and wildflowers in the group’s Longacre community garden between now and the end of March next year at a cost of just under £3,000.

Members of Wellington Town Council’s finance committee agreed at their latest meeting to support the project by awarding a grant of £1,679 – a decision later ratified by the full council.

Cllr Andrew Govier said: “This is a really exciting project. It’s quite a large expanse of land and I’m pleased the Transition group has taken it on.

“They have done so much work already and I’m happy to propose that we support this.

“We are all becoming increasingly aware of the environment and this will develop into a really nice area. It will be money well invested.”

Deputy Mayor Cllr Mark Lithgow added: “They are doing a great job around the town and we need to encourage groups like this.”

But Cllr John Thorne felt that the Transition group kept coming back to the council for money. “They keep coming back for more money even before they have spent the money they’ve been given before,” he said. “It is not transparent as to how they spend this money. There are some groups who think we are a soft touch and Transition Wellington is one of those.”

Cllr Thorne suggested that perhaps the council should look at entering into a more formal grant funding agreement – known as a Service Level Agreement – so it could keep better tabs on how Transition Wellington was working.

But councillors were very much in favour of supporting the group.

Cllr Vivienne Stock-Williams said: “I fully appreciate Helen and her team. The social benefits they are giving to the town are incalculable.”

Cllr Sean Pringle-Kosikowsky added: “Taking children along to see how food is grown is invaluable.”

And Cllr Dean Bradley said: “This is what we should be investing in.”