Residents open garden in the sky

Green fingered housing tenants have celebrated the reopening of a garden in the sky.

Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) tenants have renovated the green areas at Maytree House in Cruddas Park, which includes a special rooftop garden.

YHN and Newcastle City Council lent their support to the tenants by organising resurfacing work on the five storey building’s rooftop.

The Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Cllr Geoff O’Brien visited the 52-flat residential block to see the renovations and to unveil a plaque to mark the opening of the gardens.

The tenants were responsible for many of the upgrades, which included laying new pots and plants, improving the rockery and the arbour and replacing the existing outdoor seating.

The Westgate Ward Committee helped to fund the project, which took two months to complete.

John Lee, chief executive at YHN, said: “The Maytree House residents are a great example of tenants coming together to create a close community and an excellent environment to live in.

“The Tenants Association has worked hard to improve the environment both inside and outside of the block. YHN constantly aims to improve the communities that all of its tenants live in and the recent renovations are just the latest in a long line of positive developments.”

Norman Rutter, 65, is the treasurer of the Maytree Tenants Association and has lived in the block for nine years. He said: “The improvements to the green areas started a few years ago when a couple of the lads got some seeds and planted some flowers. Since then, more and more tenants have taken an interest in improving the block.

“Gardening helps us to keep fit and socialise with other people. I go up to the rooftop garden every night at 7pm to sit down and chat with the other tenants and I’ve made a lot of friends from getting involved in the different activities. Whenever any new tenants move into the block they are attracted to the friendly community and the great environment and the new improvements will make these even more appealing.”