Gardening? It's right up our alley! Community transforms Victorian passageway behind homes into oasis of greenery

 

• Once-dingy lane in Middlesbrough now haven of hanging baskets, trellises and trees with apples and pears
• Mavis Arnold has helped turn lane into a wonderland, while neighbouring alleys are still scruffy and rundown
• Alley was well-kept in 1960s but as the decades dragged on residents began to dump their rubbish on cobbles

By Mark Duell
Nestled between bleak and litter-strewn alleys, a little tender loving care has transformed one back lane into an oasis of greenery.
The once-dingy lane in Middlesbrough, Teesside, is now a haven of hanging baskets, trellises and trees with apples and pears, thanks to a pensioner.
Mavis Arnold, 75, has helped turn the lane behind her home into a colourful wonderland, while neighbouring alleys are still scruffy and rundown.

Beautiful: The once-dingy lane in Middlesbrough, Teesside, is now a haven of hanging baskets, trellises and trees bearing apples and pears, thanks to a pensioner

Children playing: Mavis Arnold, 75, has helped turn the lane behind her home into a colourful wonderland, while neighbouring alleys are still scruffy and rundown

Watering: Among the conifers and passionflowers as clematis clamber up the 19th century walls, it is difficult to believe this garden of tranquillity was once so bleak

Much better: In 2005 Mrs Arnold received £6,800 to create the haven of flowers, plants and trees and rallied other residents to help with the dramatic make-over

Among the conifers and passionflowers as clematis clamber up the 19th century walls, it is difficult to believe this garden of tranquillity was once so bleak.
Grandmother Mrs Arnold has lived in her terraced house on the road for more than 50 years, and in the 1960s the alley was well-kept.
But as the decades dragged on residents began to dump their rubbish on the cobbles, regardless of whether it was collection day or not.

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The result was a ‘grubby’ and ‘dirty’ back alley which was unsafe for children and a magnet for anti-social behaviour and crime.
But after the neighbourhood trust erected gates at both ends of the street as part of a pilot scheme to reduce burglary, Mrs Arnold came up with an idea.
She said: ‘I just started thinking about how lovely the alley could be. For years it had been the place where people dumped their rubbish.

Rundown: Neighbouring alleys such as this one in Middlesbrough, Teesside, are still scruffy. This is only a few streets away from the beautiful back alley garden

Pretty: Over the years, more people have become involved, maintaining the plants and adding new ones all the time, so that it has become the oasis it is today

Keeping up appearances: Tomatoes, apples, pears and potatoes are just some of the fruit and vegetables grown in the abundant alley

Proud: Mavis Arnold is one of the community members who have turned their old Victorian terraced street's back alley into a city oasis in a corner of Middlesbrough

Well-kept: Mrs Arnold, who used to work as a school meals assistant and now lives with her partner, has been ultimately responsible for the garden for years

‘It was grubby, dirty and bleak, but after the gates went up I realised it didn’t have to be like that. I approached the trust.

MIDDLESBROUGH REGENERATION

Middlesbrough ranked as the third worst area for child poverty in a February survey by End Child Poverty. The figure was at 37 per cent last year, rising from 34 per cent in 2011. 
The average house price is £109,851 and its unemployment rate is 7.7 per cent.
But the council's regeneration team is working on a number of projects to improve areas of the area and the local standard of housing.
This includes a revamp of the Middlehaven area, which is home to Middlesbrough College and many of the town's creative businesses.

'I was given a grant to completely transform the alley. Over the years, as the flowers and trees have blossomed it has become more and more lovely.’
In 2005 Mrs Arnold received £6,800 to create the haven of flowers, plants and trees and rallied other residents to help with the dramatic make-over.
Over the years, more people have become involved, maintaining the plants and adding new ones all the time, so that it has become the oasis it is today.
Tomatoes, apples, pears and potatoes are just some of the fruit and vegetables grown in the abundant alley.
Mrs Arnold, who is expecting a great-grandchild, added: ‘The area has never looked so beautiful. 
'We have had such a warm, sunny summer that residents have been sitting out almost every evening enjoying a drink or some food.
'It’s great for children, and we get a lot of visiting youngsters to the alley. My kids used to play on the cobbles in the 1960s.
'This would have been perfect for them. My grandchildren are adults now, but I am hoping my great grandchild will enjoy the alley when she is a bit older.’

Popular attraction: Grandmother Mrs Arnold has lived in her terraced house on the road for more than 50 years

Changed: The 19th century cobbled alleyway in Middlesbrough was once a dark, dirty lane until Mrs Arnold decided to hang flower baskets and potted plants

Depressed: This is the more familiar face of an area of Middlesbrough, Teesside, that has become mired in deprivation and despair in recent years

Eyesore: Just around the corner from this view of Middlesbrough, one single street has come together to create an astonishing lush green oasis

Deprived: Middlesbrough ranked as the third worst area for child poverty in a February survey by End Child Poverty. The figure was at 37 per cent last year

 

The widow, who used to work as a school meals assistant and now lives with her partner, has been ultimately responsible for the garden for years.
But now she is older she has enlisted the help of neighbour Peter Nugent, who became more involved when he was made redundant five years ago.
She said: ‘Peter has been great, and the alley has come on in leaps and bounds since he began working with me.
‘It’s a great thing for the community in general, and it has really brought people together.
‘And it’s now unthinkable for anybody to dump their rubbish on the cobbles. Residents have come to really care about the alley.’