Starting from Scratch – ‘Relocation’ to Marsh Lane
February 3rd, 2008 by admin
In the first week of November plotholders were finally able to move in and try to start new gardens on the bare new site at Marsh Lane, Waltham Forest – formerly a horse-grazed meadow valued by locals. Most had to give up their plots on the Olympic site in July, abandoning valuable mature fruit trees, asparagus beds, grape vines and swathes of naturalised herbs and flowers.
Before and after
The empty site was a stark contrast to the secluded and plant-filled old Manor Gardens, with its maze of picturesque plots nestling between riverbanks, now consigned to the bulldozers. The first impression here is of bleakness and exposure, with a harsh geometric layout. Traffic thunders by on the busy Orient Way road a few yards from the site. The blank expanses of earth and long, hard-edged path receding into the distance looked uninviting. The high spiked fencing gives an impression of a prison camp – or perhaps a fort, needing defending against potential hostile intruders. The contractors Birse Civils also construct nuclear power stations, so perhaps the soulless ambiance is unsurprising.
The actual construction had taken twice as long as originally promised, and the area around was still a building site.
The ‘help with relocation’ that had been promised by the LDA consisted of stuffing possessions higgledy-piggledy into shipping containers and leaving them by the road 200m from the allotment site. Several plotholders found their things were lost or damaged. Eventually one man and a small truck was provided to ferry items to the gates of the site – he expressed concern at the beautiful new site being ‘messed up with all that junk’.
Even with superhuman effort and ideal conditions, it is unlikely this place will ever acquire the special timeless qualities of the old ’secret’ Manor Gardens which delighted so many visitors.
The containers on Marsh Lane – BBC filming
End of the line for this old bench
The entrance
View towards Marsh Lane Cottage
A tree starts a new life
“Hi-ho, hi-ho…”
Taking a break
Lucky plants that escaped the Olympic destruction – they were moved to this holding pen until new site was ready