PLANS for a sensory garden for people with dementia and a new children's play area will be able to move forwards in Cookley thanks to a generous donation from local rotary groups.

The team behind Cookley in Bloom plans to create a sensory garden in Lea Lane, primarily for use by a local dementia group but which will be open to all.

The project will also see an orchard planted using Worcestershire fruit trees, a new children's play area, a wildlife area, and a grow tunnel to ensure a continued supply of plants for the scheme.

A commemorative pebble pathway will also be created, formed of stones painted by members of the community to reflect the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the village.

Kidderminster Shuttle: Arvind Sharma, president of Kinver Rotary Club, Bill Steadman and Robbie Quinton, from Cookley in Bloom, and Alan Stanley, president of Kidderminster Rotary ClubArvind Sharma, president of Kinver Rotary Club, Bill Steadman and Robbie Quinton, from Cookley in Bloom, and Alan Stanley, president of Kidderminster Rotary Club

Rotary clubs in Kinver and Kidderminster joined forces to contribute £750 towards the project and money has also been raised through plant sales and raffles.

Bill Southam, from the Cookley in Bloom group, said: "This most welcome donation from the two Rotary clubs will help us to move forward with our plans for the future and continue the embryonic work of the group.

"We have already raised money through crowd funding, plant sales, and raffles, however it is calculated that we will need approximately £2,000 to complete the work.”

Since 2018, the Cookley in Bloom group has created a community garden where vegetables can be harvested by villagers and a lending library cabinet, converted a neglected roadside area into a flower bed and wildflower area, renovated neglected passageways, and subsequently extended the community garden by clearing a patch of adjacent wasteland and constructing a rockery.