A team of offenders has “answered the prayers” of nuns at a convent by restoring the once-splendid gardens to their former glory. They have taken on the huge job task of tidying the gardens at the Loreto Retreat and Conference Centre in Llandudno. They are at the rear of the convent on the steep hillside at the base of the Great Orme.
As a result the work had become too much for the elderly sisters, some of whom are in their 90s. But it is a challenge which the team has taken to with relish, and which they have undertaken to continue indefinitely.
They’ve all been sentenced by the courts to work free of charge on projects that are of benefit to the community. All Community Payback projects like this one are organised by the North Wales Probation Area to ensure that offenders pay their dues to society.
The centre, at the foot of the Great Orme, opened as a school in 1919 but when the school closed in 1985 it became a retreat and conference centre used largely by church groups. Because of the steep hillside, the garden was laid out in terraces, about half of which were used as a kitchen garden producing fruit and vegetables for the sisters. The rest is laid out as flower-beds.
Sister Una Coogan, director of the centre, said: "Until three or four years ago the sisters used to maintain the garden themselves but it got too much for them and they are now in their 80s and 90s." “The team have answered our prayers,” she added.
The centre does have a part-time gardener but the task of clearing the gardens to the front and rear was too much for him alone. During a discussion with their local community police officers it was suggested that the work would be a suitable project for the team of offenders as part of the Community Payback scheme.
The Probation Service immediately saw the benefits not only for the centre but for the ex-offenders, and so the clear-up got underway at once. Community Service Supervisor Bryan Dunt said they would visit the centre for one or two days a week over the coming months but once the initial tidying-up had been completed they would keep returning to maintain the gardens. "They have obviously been very attractive gardens which have simply become
overgrown and we want to restore the tranquil walks which the sisters used to enjoy," he said. "This is a good way of teaching the team some new skills and we hope that some of them will take to it. We’re going to be working with Conwy County Borough Council who are going to be providing us with some horticultural expertise. There is an awful lot of clearing to do, with bindweed, brambles and convolvulus all over the place.
Sister Una is delighted with the progress being made and the long-term commitment to the project. "The convent was originally an educational institution and it's nice to think that an element of education is being continued. We're pleased to be able to give them an opportunity to put something back into the community," she said.
Carol Moore, chief officer of the North Wales Probation Area, said: “The important thing about Community Payback is that people can have a say in what work takes place in their local area and how it benefits their community. From bringing derelict areas and buildings back into public use, clearing church yards, repairing park benches and removing graffiti, offenders are working to make local communities better places to live. Offenders on Community Orders do work that otherwise might not be carried out.”
