THE NEW GARDEN. Copyright Paul Audcent 2014
A place of serenity, but it all goes wrong, only to be be saved in the most unlikely way!
They, the local bigwigs, had a problem so they turned to the local
council and requested their help. In short, would they please annul the current
ownership so that the land could be repurchased legally and the major
development proceed to the benefit of all, particularly the council and the
financial bigwigs backing the project.
Well said the council, what is in it for us and our ratepayers?
Well, said the developers, a goodly slice of land bordering the edge of the proposed new shop buildings and close to the apartment structures so that a green open space would be available for both shoppers and residents to enjoy.
So it was agreed and the site, which originally was an old bombed site, substantial in size but no longer owned by any living person, was legally changed to Government ownership after a superficial checking for likely kin, none were found. Thus the land was finally added to an auction list and eventually sold to the developers. Council planning eventually received a planning application and council received its plot of land that the developers had originally agreed upon. Naturally this boosted the chances of any residential and commercial plans to succeed and those opposition letters were quietly filed into the waste paper basket.
So the builders arrived together with an assortment of vehicles and the work began. It progressed in leaps and bounds. Soon the Council park area was cleared of rubbish and the first sods were bought in. They were rolled out and positioned in a brick like pattern, then a sandy soil was vibrated in between the edges and joints, finally a heavy spray watering to finish the job by the Council Parks Department and all was finished. The next day the Mayor came down to view the result and what he found made him very angry, the whole green sward was now a mass of brown textured grass. The Parks management took samples for testing at the laboratory and a bewildered team of men and women left to await the tests.
The results soon came back and they weren’t negative so a fresh watering was ordered and although the grass grew it still remained a grey brown colour. So experts were called in and they took samples in pots that turned a bright green after a few days. The experts billed their accounts and shook their combined heads in unison. Local professors were called in to give their verdict from two universities but to no avail, so finally the Mayor ordered that the whole area be concreted in.
When the towns people heard this, a public storm erupted and the Mayor had to back down. Meanwhile the housing site progressed and the developers began selling the apartments, alas sales were very slow and it was discovered that the new grassy area was the cause.
A Mrs. Coleman expressed a view in the local newspaper that no one had really checked out the real owners of the land, there had been several families with homes that had suffered the heavy stick of bombs that had fallen one night many years previously. The Council disagreed and said they had tried their hardest so Mrs. Coleman suggested a full batch of children’s equipment be installed.
Swings, roundabouts and football areas sprouted over the following month and then the area started to green up. At first a light tinge but increasingly, a proper green sward rapidly began to appear. Mrs. Coleman said that it was the children’s feet that finally convinced the lawns to grow their proper colour. And maybe she was right.
The bigwigs however started to fret and investigated more deeply the various plots of previous ownership and this time they did not skimp but hired ancestry experts to trace the original owners and their probable relations if any existed. Indeed there were several with likely claims and these were paid out at current prices. Now trees started to flourish, no one knew where they had come from, perhaps the wind had bought the seed in. But Cherries and Acer's soon populated the corners. Mrs. Coleman denied having anything to do with it as did the Council.
Another strange thing was the grass never seemed to need cutting, it thrived and grew so slowly that just peoples feet walking over it seemed to keep it low permanently.
The townspeople were so pleased with the new space they asked Council to allow Mrs. Coleman to plant a small flower garden to one side of the play area and away from the soccer field. So she chose a variety of annuals, bi-annuals and roses to one side by the new wooden seats so beloved by the elderly.
But would you believe that green sward still exists today with the minimum support from the Council gardeners, well you can say anything in a fictional story!
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