A FIRE station which created a trailblazing community garden is spearheading another initiative.

The garden – created alongside Silsden fire station, in Elliott Street, in 2021 so that residents and visitors had somewhere they could relax – has proved a huge success.

Features include seating, shrubbery, flowers and pathways.

Now an area of land at the site which was covered with grass has been transformed into an allotment where people can grow a range of fruit, vegetables and herbs.

And there are plans for an orchard.

Dom Creed, watch manager at the fire station, says: "The allotment initiative has been fantastic for the local community.

"We’ve had a group of people with learning difficulties and nine members of the public regularly visiting to grow fruit and veg.

"The allotment area has been in use for a little while now and we’ve just secured a wellbeing grant to create an orchard.

"This is an exciting opportunity for the people of Silsden, as there is currently a ten-year wait for an allotment plot in the town."

Produce being grown at the fire station includes carrots, onions, strawberries, radishes, cherries and Brussels sprouts.

There is also a herb patch with a range of plants including mint, oregano, parsley and chives.

Watch manager Creed adds: "This really has been a community project and we’ve had so many items donated, from a shed to bay trees and strawberry bushes. We’ve made a polytunnel from recycled materials and there is also a seating area where people can relax and enjoy the plants and flowers."

The Silsden scheme is providing a model for others, and a fundraising drive has been launched to create an orchard at Ilkley fire station.

Ilkley firefighters are working with charities, schools and businesses to make their site a community asset where people can learn more about nature and the environment.

The orchard will include 20 semi-dwarf fruit trees, featuring a mix of apples, pears and plums.

Watch manager Lee Mitchell said: "Establishing an orchard and working with the public enforces the message that this is a community fire station and an asset for all.

"People will be able to pick fruit, help maintain the orchard and meet the firefighters, while understanding more about the work we do as a fire service. It also means we're doing our bit to help capture carbon and meet the Government’s targets of net zero by 2050."