Community garden will be removed from Kenilworth town centre very soon

Despite several conversations with the owners of the land, Cobalt Estates, and the involvement of town councillors, The Friends of Talisman Square group has been unable to negotiate an agreement for the plants to stay until any planned development begins on thesite.

The group has been advised that the plants must now all be removed by the end of March.

Dr Catherine Dallaway, a spokeswoman for the group, said: “Whilst we are all deeply disappointed, we will respect their decision and feel proud that we have been able to make such a positive impact on the environment and those who have visited and enjoyed Talisman Square so much over the last four years.

“People frequently stopped us while we were gardening to thank us for the wonderful job we were doing and we feel sad that the town is about to lose this much-loved communityspace.”

The group is already talking to Kenilworth Town Council and members are keen to fully consider all options for re-locating the plants.

Members are determined that the work they have done to increase biodiversity and improve the town centre environment will not be lost and feel sure the local community will continue to support them as they work out how and where the community garden willevolve.

Lawyers for Cobalt Estates originally advised the firm in November 2023 that the planting on the small strip of land owned by the company and which lies between the car park and the mall should be removed.

This was due to attempts by the Friends group to list the area as an Asset of Community Value (ACV), which have been rejected by Warwick District Council.

Listing the site as an ACV would mean Cobalt Estates would not be able to sell the site to anyone other than Friends of Talisman Square for a maximum of six months, should it wish to sell in the future, and “would have implications on the long-term viability of the centre”.

The initial deadline for the removal of the garden was December but this has now been extended.

Hugo Hawkings, chief executive of Discovery Properties, the developers of the centre, said: “After the advice given to Cobalt Estates to remove the planting by its lawyers, meetings were held to see if alternative solutions could be found.

“Once it was clear that none were forthcoming, a later deadline of March 2024 was agreed to allow the Friends enough time to remove the planting, while also allowing enough time for Cobalt Estates to install new landscaping during the growing season.

“We are very disappointed that it has come to this, as like everyone else we appreciated the efforts of the community to brighten this area up.

“However, repeated attempts to have the area listed as an ACV have forced Cobalt Estates to take this step.”