Yesterday I visited Seears Park Nursery in Sutton to speak with founder Kevin about some history of the site, the work he does at the Nursery and plans for the future.

Kevin began by showing my some photos of the Nursery going back to when it first opened. He told me of the work he previously did there with Merton College, before taking on the site himself.

I was very impressed with how far the Nursery has come along, and the work Kevin does for the local community. Founders Kevin and Garth have years of experience working with many diverse groups and individuals and on working with various partner organisations on different horticultural and garden projects across London and Surrey.

Their aim is to develop the Nursery at Seears Park into a lasting fully integrated community asset as set out in our aims and objectives, where each project benefits another. In the spirit of the Big Society, they believe that their social enterprise and inclusive projects can realise their vision and promote an environment where ‘Communities are growing together’.

Seears Park Nursery often is host to children from local schools with special educations needs, who come to the Nursery to learn new skills and tend to the plants with volunteers. I was lucky enough to meet some of the children and volunteers during my visit and I hope more people take up the opportunity to come and see the work they do here.

I also used this opportunity to speak to Kevin about his plans for Quarry Cottage, where a planning application for a cafe will be considered at the Planning Committee of Sutton Council on 16th December. I was joined by a local resident, Ralph, who has taken a keen interest in this planning application, and we put some questions to Kevin, and the architect Niall, about the project. You can see more about the plans here.

I understand there has been a lot of feedback from residents on these plans, so I hope residents will get in touch with the Nursery if they feel there are questions that haven’t been answered, and come along to the Planning Committee at the Sutton Council offices on 16th December should they wish to.

It was a pleasure to meet Kevin and his team, and I hope to see and hear more about the work he does in the future. I would also encourage residents to visit the Nursery for themselves and find out more about what they do.