Wooler gardeners get new eco-loo thanks to £3,000 grant from Newcastle Building Society

Gardeners have been left feeling flush thanks to funding from Newcastle Building Society.
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The Wooler Community Food Garden recently moved to a new larger site which offers 24 allotment plots and 20 raised beds for local people of all ages to use, almost all of which were snapped up immediately.

The new garden is around half a mile from the nearest accessible public toilet, which led the committee to look at how they might provide a toilet on a site which has no access to running water or sewerage.

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A fully-accessible, composting “Eco-Loo” equipped with solar-powered lights was identified as the best option - and now, a £3,000 grant provided by Newcastle Building Society through its community branch in Wooler’s Cheviot Centre has enabled the group to purchase and install it.

Siobhan Younger, manager of Newcastle Building Society's Wooler branch, with Susan Veitch of the Wooler Community Garden.Siobhan Younger, manager of Newcastle Building Society's Wooler branch, with Susan Veitch of the Wooler Community Garden.
Siobhan Younger, manager of Newcastle Building Society's Wooler branch, with Susan Veitch of the Wooler Community Garden.

Bill Eugster, who set up the project, said: “The new garden has been a real lifesaver over the last few months, enabling many of our members to get some exercise and time out in the fresh air and sunshine in a safe environment, and we’re looking forward to seeing the fruits of everyone’s labours as the summer progresses.

“Moving here has helped us increase the number of local people who can be part of the project, but we were also keen that being further away from the nearest public toilets would not be a time restriction on gardening together, as this is important if you’re planning on spending a full day working on your plot.

“Installing our own facilities was always part of the plan for the move, but the lack of a mains connection meant we needed to be creative in how we did so – and having seen a similar toilet on another site, we decided this was the way to go.

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“We’re now looking at adding a hardstanding path up to it to ensure its accessible to wheelchair users all year round.”

Siobhan Younger, manager at Newcastle Building Society's Wooler branch, adds: “We’ve had a really warm welcome into Wooler since officially opening in February and we’re very pleased to be giving back to the community.”

The grant has been provided by the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation.

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