A COMMUNITY forest three years in the making finally flourished into life on Friday with the planting of 350 trees.

Green-fingered volunteers gathered at the former allotments at Pickards Small Field and Kembrey Grass to transform the popular green space into the Hreod Burna Urban Forest.

A team of 25 Nationwide employees picked up trowels to spend the morning completing the community forest.

Thanks to a £12,000 grant from Tesco’s Bags of Help fund, a mixture of oak, cherry and birch trees were placed into the ground.

The mass planting was the results of a three year labour of love by campaigners to ensure the space was preserved after it was scouted by developers.

In 2012, developers Haboakus scrapped a £30m plan to build 250 homes on the site after fierce opposition from development from residents, councillors and the Hreod Burna Parkway Conservation Group

Chairman of Hreod Burna Urban Forest, Steve Thompson, 68, said he hoped the forest would provide a peaceful spot for generations to come.

“It was amazing to see the space come to life and we finished the work in a good time. It is already a beautiful space and we hope that when the weather picks up we will see families enjoying the area,” he said.

“It’s been a long time in the making so to finally have trees in the ground and a stunning community space that people can enjoy is a great feeling.”

Steve was joined on the day by members of his family including grandchildren Poppy and Freddie Fox-Thompson.

“It’s been a really good atmosphere here today, the kids have enjoyed getting involved even though there has been more running around and playing rather than digging,” he said.

“We can’t quite believe we’re finally here.”

Now the Gorse Hill forest has been born, residents can experience a taste of the countryside on their doorstep.

The group want to see the space become a popular picnic spot and have devoted their energies to clearing the space in preparation for the tree planting.

The team behind the urban forest worked tirelessly for months to spruce up the green space, which was cleared of high bramble bushes and mowed to ensure the best growing conditions for the forest.

Steve said:

“We plan to hold events there in the future and we’re so proud of the amazing progress we have made. Our hard work has really paid off. We took on the developers and we won and it’s a great feeling to see the community forest finally here.”