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As part of a joint commitment to the environment, colleagues from Cross Keys Homes (CKH) and Mears Group have joined forces to plant 1,000 shrubs, plants, bushes and trees in and around Peterborough.

Over the last few months, CKH’s Estate Rangers team together with the Mears’ team have jointly completed planting in five neighbourhood areas, bringing raised beds to life and creating green canopies close to the city centre with varieties including cherry trees, conifers, rose bushes and begonias.

The project culminated in the planting of 100 trees at Park Lane in Peterborough with CKH Assistant Director, Programme Delivery, David Richardson attending alongside Gary Gibbs, Mears’ General Manager.

CKH Director of Assets, Housing Needs and Estate Management, Stuart Fort said: “Huge thanks must go to all the fantastic colleagues from both CKH and Mears who have worked together to make this initiative happen.

“Together we have been able to transform five local neighbourhoods including Kesteven Walk and St Mary’s Court as well as Loxley retirement housing scheme and Kingfisher Court extra care scheme, alongside today’s tree planting at Park Lane.

“This initiative has not only helped to support our commitment to the environment, but it has helped to create communities that are more sustainable and healthier for the people living around them.”

Gary Gibbs, General Manager, Mears Group Peterborough, added: “This is a fantastic project to be involved in and we’re really pleased with how, together with CKH, we’ve been able to transform so many local areas over recent months.  Creating green spaces for everyone to enjoy makes such a difference to how people feel about their local community and our teams had a great time helping to make this happen.

“Through the Mears Foundation and our community chest fund we’re committed to delivering more projects like this and will continue to create opportunities for our teams to get involved in local community projects through our corporate volunteering programme.”

This joint initiative has been funded thanks to a grant from Mears’ Foundation and Mears’ community chest fund, which forms part of their added value contract agreement with CKH, enabling a proportion of their profits to be donated back each year as part of their corporate social responsibility commitment. CKH has also contributed funding to the initiative to enable more plants to be purchased. All shrubs, plants and trees have been purchased locally from the support of Tandee Nursery in Thurning.v