We have discussed the planting and are now aiming to plant in September, as this will give the trees a good start, meanwhile we will contact the two schools and encourage students to help with the planting. Also the Covid issue will be safer .

We have some fantastic news, the parish council are pleased with our proposal The apple tree theatre in station road gardens, in Billingshurst is our first public funded project, it will be an area that can be used by the schools to add a different opportunity for their study ,if you could imagine a group of excited children doing a play , with their parents watching from the grassy bank, encouraging with cheers and clapping, what a wonderful vision, the local primary school and indeed the secondary school students may even join together and do a inter generational play! But the main benefit is that it opens up the opportunity for them and gives a dedicated area to use. We have got some pledges but need more, so if you feel that you would like to contribute to this lovely project that is our local community please go to https:// www.spacehive.com/woodlandtheatre. We take this opportunity to thank everyone that has already pledged . Onward and upward.

In 2007, Billingshurst Parish Council started discussing what to do with the former football field and cricket field in Station Road following the opening of the sports facilities at Jubilee Fields. A group of volunteers have worked since then to create the very popular Station Road Community Gardens, and the Friends of Station Road Gardens (Billingshurst) Limited was created.  From it’s inception, the project has been supported and majority funded by the Parish Council, who have worked together with the team to develop the site into a community resource. Original ideas included landscaping the perimeter, maintaining a green in the middle for families to play, youth shelter, hard path around the edge, park style railings, arch through to the football field. Many of these ideas have come to fruition for the benefit of all of the community. Over and above these ideas, a number of further initiatives have been realised, including the creation of a raised accessible Sensory Bed, a selection of fruit and vegetable areas,  a willow circle, a rock garden, a memorial bed (for 100 year commemoration of the end of WW1), and numerous other features. The site is widely used by the public throughout both days and evenings, from young children in the two play areas, through youths on the basketball & football court and shelter. Dog walkers and joggers frequent the park throughout the day, and families enjoy leisure activities and picnics on the field. There have been community events held in the Gardens, such as ‘Lark in the Park’, a local musical event which attracted up to 300 people to enjoy the entertainment on a sunny July afternoon, and outdoor shows from the ‘Mechanical Theatre’ group. The site has obtained a Silver Gilt Award in South and South East In Bloom competitions for both 2017 and 2018 The Silver-Gilt award received represents a high standard entry which met the judging criteria and objectives, and included sections of exceptionally high standard. The gardens were judged to generally meet sustainable and quality thresholds.. The judges also indicated that the gardens have potential to be a Gold Medal winner in the future. In November 2019, the Parish Council agreed to change the name of the site to Station Road Community Gardens The Chairman of the Friends of Station Road Gardens is Keith Brown, who has been recognised for his continued commitment to the Gardens (among other community projects) by the awarding of the British Empire Medal in 2020.