Cherry Tree Lane community garden

The Crown Estate has been granted planning permission to create a community garden at Cherry Tree Lane, Woodhall Farm, in partnership with Sunnyside Rural Trust, a local charity and social enterprise. 

View the location of the proposed site

The community garden will become a place for local residents to enjoy, boosting physical and mental wellbeing, providing new habitats for local wildlife and improving biodiversity.  Find out more on our proposed approach, benefits and suggested designs for the community garden

Our planning application for Cherry Tree Lane community garden has been approved by St Albans City & District Council (SADC). The application reference number is 5/2024/1552 and can be viewed on SADC’s planning portal.

We will be updating this page with more information on the community garden as it progresses, including our timescales for planting.

Community Engagement

We held three events in July which local residents in Woodhall Farm were invited to attend. Our proposals for the garden, which Sunnyside helped finalise, were informed by the feedback we received from residents at these events.

Below is a summary of the key questions raised at our events and how our proposals have responded to: 

How accessible is the site? Will there be provision for bus parking, ramped access, and disabled/accessible seating? Will it be accessible to and from the Nickey Line?

The site is situated next to an existing bus stop, providing a direct public transport connection to the site. There will be ramped and gated access to the site from the north, with an accessible footpath extending to the perennial garden. Access from the Nickey Line will be stepped to retain the existing slope from the Nickey Line and avoid the need to undertake ‘cut and fill’ earthworks. 

Will there be parking within the site? (NB There was an expressed consensus that the proposal should minimise the use of cars)  

There is no parking provision within the site – the community garden is designed for a local walkable catchment as a ‘place to pause’ for those already using the local bus/pedestrian networks and Nickey Line. 

Will there be any lighting, and what impact will this have on wildlife?  

The proposal does not include any form of lighting in order to minimise the impact on wildlife and residential properties to the west. 

Can levelled / vehicular access be provided from the neighbouring development?  

Access points into the site from the west would require the alteration of public highway, loss of several mature trees/hedgerows, could adversely impact residential amenity and may risk drawing in car borne visitors. The principle of the site is to allow public access into an area of current agricultural land which has been enhanced through improved biodiversity value and informal recreation features, whilst retaining existing habitats/ hedgerows on its margins.