The Oasis Project, now called Greener Ipswich, was started by three members of the FoHP committee, Richard Bloomfield, Liz Harsant and Faye Harburt (ex committee). The aim was to get more greenery in the town centre by having trees, planters and rain gardens. The project was part of the “Town’s Fund” from which Ipswich received £25 million and Greener Ipswich £600k (later reduced to around £520k).
The ultimate ambition was to link up Christchurch Park and the Waterfront via Crown Street, Princes, Queen, St Nicholas and St Peter’s streets. It was even hoped that one day a green trail along the Waterfront could even link up with Holywells park via Duke Street and Myrtle Road. Unfortunately due to unexpectedly high costs for the town centre ‘greening’ side, plus the reduced budget, the Waterfront extension was not possible. The town centre issues were due to the not inconsiderable amount of underground infrastructure (cables, sewers, gas pipes etc). This all needed to be surveyed and very carefully planned by a team of urban landscape specialists, which added to the costs.
Another connection to Holywells park is that some of the park’s benches have been build and designed by Tim Germain, who was part of the Greener Ipswich task force. The very first thing that Greener Ipswich managed to achieve was a beautiful Tim Germain designed bench call “The Wave” (see news article here).
The bench is situated near the Novotel and now marks the end of the Greener Ipswich route. The bench is very widely used by passers by who can also admire the Himalayan Cherry Tree (Prunus rufa) which Greener Ipswich planted on the grassy knoll opposite St Peter’s by the Waterfront. One of Tim’s fantastic Holywells Park benches is featured on our website – click here.
You can find out more about the Greener Ipswich trail running through the town centre by reading the news article on their project website. Perhaps one day a new green trail will lead from the town centre to Holywells Park!
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