Enthusiastic gardeners looking to improve the displays at Houghton-le-Spring’s Rectory Park have been gifted £500 to help nurture their plans.

The Bloomin’ Marvellous Gardening Group at Rectory Park want to make the gardens beautiful for local people to enjoy and also in memory of their first tutor, Sue Walton, who sadly passed away last year.

Kate Welch, who leads Acumen Community Buildings which runs the Old Rectory, off The Broadway, said: “Our Bloomin' Marvellous Gardening group supports people with mental and physical health conditions to enjoy the out of doors, meet other people, learn gardening skills and make the gardens of Rectory Park a more attractive place for local families to enjoy.”

“Our first tutor, Sue Walton, died of lung cancer last year and we want to make the gardens even more beautiful as a tribute to her as we couldn't celebrate her life last year because of lockdown.”

“We want to buy more plants and materials to make cold frames and compost heaps. We have raised money from running small fundraising events and small grants and we also sell plants which we have grown from cuttings but haven't been able to do this because of Covid.”

“This is a generous donation which will help us to get on with our plans and we are all very grateful for the support from Persimmon Homes in Durham.”

Christine Cooper, sales director for Persimmon Homes Durham, said: “We strongly believe in supporting the communities where we build and are delighted to be able to support the group in cultivating the grounds at Rectory Park in memory of Sue and for the benefit of local people.”

The Persimmon Homes Community Champions initiative invites groups and charities who have already worked hard to raise money themselves to apply for match-funding of up to £1,000.

Each month the Persimmon Homes Durham donates up to £2,000 to community groups across the region. This also happens across Persimmon’s other 31 operating areas, meaning up to £64,000 is dished out every single month – a total of £768,000 a year.

Christine added: “We’ve made it really simple to apply for funding, and we’re urging good causes and charities to apply for donations by completing an online form at www.persimmonhomes.com/charity ”

Caption: Sue Walton, the group’s first tutor, pictured in the gardens