If you have lived in Fairfield long enough to remember the formation of the Fairfield Parish Council (FPC), you may also remember filling in a survey about what you thought that council’s priorities should be. Along with market stalls in the Urban Park (tick) and a community pub, one of the most popular amenities on the wish list was an area for allotments.

It’s taken ten years of hard work to get this project off the ground. First there was the difficulty of identifying suitable land, and then the long process of complying with the necessary procedures for a change of use, but thanks to the perseverance of a number of councillors, most recently Shawn Reader, FPC is now able to share visuals of the proposed allotments, to be installed off Eliot Way – and we think they’re worth the wait.

There are 28 full-size allotments, plus a polytunnel and several smaller raised beds, and it’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into making sure the these are well resourced. Each full-size allotment has a tool chest on a concrete bed for secure storage, taps are placed centrally within each group of four plots, and there are composting bays as well as log and brush piles, wheelbarrow storage, a tool charging station and an eco-toilet. To the back of the area, a group of beehives sits within a wildflower meadow, preserving a much-needed natural habitat for pollinators, and blackthorn (sloe) bushes will be used to fill the gaps in the current hedge between this area and the meadow containing unmarked graves from the hospital era.

Beside the allotments and the old hospital cemetery will sit another new amenity: a Garden of Remembrance. Since Fairfield residents gave up our rights to burial in Stotfold when we broke away to become our own parish in 2013, FPC has been working to offer a solution to a problem that few residents realised existed – and here it is.

Although a decision was made not to dedicate any of our limited green spaces to a traditional cemetery with burial plots, the plans for the Garden of Remembrance contain both memorial benches and slab memorials beneath which ashes can be interred. These are arranged in a peaceful and attractive space centered around a water feature, with ornamental planting and willow arches and sculptures.

Both the allotments and the Garden of Remembrance will be wrapped in flowering lawns and wildflower meadows and well screened from each other and from their wider surroundings. At the initial consultation on 12 April, the plans were well received by the residents who saw them. The next step is to submit them to Central Bedfordshire Council for approval.