Council sows seeds for the future of St Andrew's Gardens

Rugby Borough Council has drawn up a draft masterplan for the revamp and now wants to hear residents' views before pushing forward with the project.

The draft plan includes extensive landscaping of the gardens, removing dense shrubbery and replacing it with seasonal and woodland bulbs, meadow grass and flowering lawns.

Other ideas on the drawing board include relocating the closed churchyard's remaining gravestones and setting the stones flat in the ground, with information boards detailing the history of the memorials, and the creation of a small Japanese rock garden to complement the tree planted in memory of the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

St Andrew's Gardens were created in the grounds of the former Holy Trinity Church, which opened in 1854 as a chapel-of-ease of St Andrew's Church.

The council took over responsibility for the maintenance of the Church Street site in 1975, a year after the church closed.

Cllr Lisa Parker, Rugby Borough Council portfolio holder for environment and public realm, said: "We want to make St Andrew's Gardens a welcoming space where residents can relax in quiet surroundings away from the hustle and bustle of the town centre.

"The draft masterplan seeks to create such an environment while remaining respectful of the site's history as a churchyard, but we want to hear the views of residents to make the gardens a place everyone can enjoy."

Residents can view the masterplan and take part in the consultation by visiting www.rugby.gov.uk/saintandrew

The consultation closes at 5pm on Friday 26 April.

Photo caption: Chris Worman MBE, Rugby Borough Council's parks and grounds manager, discusses the draft masterplan for the revamp of St Andrew's Gardens with Cllr Lisa Parker, the council's portfolio holder for environment and public realm.