Plans to transform an unused piece of land into a community garden for locals to enjoy launched yesterday at a fundraising family fun day at The Lanes Community Garden off Burton Stone Lane in Clifton with support from York’s Ultra Fibre Optic (UFO) from TalkTalk as it rolls out its full fibre network across the city.
The event raised over £280 and local residents from surrounding streets enjoyed an afternoon of family activities including face painting, obstacle courses, cake and plant stalls whilst hearing from The Lanes Community Garden committee about how they hope to reinvent the space.
The idea behind the project, which has been supported by Make it York’s Bloom! has been made possible by the fundraising efforts of the garden committee who received a boost from York’s UFO from TalkTalk.
Hatti Mckenzie, founder of The Lanes Community Garden Committee, said: “It was a brilliant day yesterday bringing together residents from the local area who were all enthusiastic about our plans for the space. We can’t wait to start improving the area and are grateful to York’s UFO from TalkTalk for their kind donation. Thanks must also go to Aldi on Clifton Moor and The Co-op on Clarence Street for their donations as well as everyone that contributed cakes, plants, prizes etc.”
Bloom! Festival Curator, Lotte Inch, added: “It has been really wonderful for Bloom! and Make It York to be involved in getting this local project off the ground. Working with such an enthusiastic group of people and supporting their efforts to bring more green into the city is exactly what Bloom! is all about. Thank you for a brilliant day. We can’t wait to see the finished garden!”
York’s UFO Marketing Manager, Helen Fletcher, said: “This project is such a lovely idea and as we saw yesterday, it will really help to bring the local community together. As we continue to roll out our full fibre network across York, we’re keen to get involved in community projects that will make a real difference to residents. It was great to be back in Clifton where we built our network over three years ago and answer any questions about York’s UFO. We’re also thrilled to be supporting Bloom! for the second year running and it was brilliant to talk to residents and the committee about the upcoming plans for the community garden!”
York’s UFO from TalkTalk is twenty times faster, more stable and reliable than other ‘fibre’ products* and is both accessible and affordable, It is transforming the quality of broadband across the city delivering speeds of more than 900 MB through Fibre-to-the-Premise technology which involves laying full fibre all the way from the exchange into individual homes or businesses. The full fibre connection means it’s possible to download a two-hour HD film in several seconds or 100 songs in three seconds, tasks that currently take more than 25 minutes and eight minutes on a standard broadband connection.
The network is already available to homes and businesses in Clifton. The network currently passes 33,000 homes and businesses enabling residents in Dringhouses, Woodthorpe, Foxwood, Chapelfields, Poppleton, Huntington, New Earswick, Rawcliffe, Clifton and parts of Holgate and The Groves to connect. York’s UFO will be available to 55,000 homes and businesses across the city by 2020.
For more information about York’s UFO from TalkTalk, please follow TalkTalkUFOYork on Facebook and Twitter or to place an order visit www.talktalk.co.uk/ufo.