Message from the Chair of the Trustees

Over the years Combs has lost all facilities including the village school, the Post Office and shop, the Live and Let Live and the Gardeners Arms pubs. Little Finborough has never had any amenities. This left our community with no indoor or outdoor facilities in which to gather together and socialise.

Oaks Meadow, once part of Fenn’s Farm, was transferred to me by Victor and Daphne Scarff in 2005. The village fete was held there for 11 years as was the occasional celebration, such as the Combs village school reunion and maypole dancing, but otherwise the meadow had stood bare and desolate. It has been my privilege to lease this meadow to the Oaks Meadow Project to provide a lasting legacy to the villages for future generations and to reduce our carbon footprint by doing our bit to offset climate change.  

The Covid lockdowns showed us how important strong communities are and how much people value local green spaces. Oaks Meadow fits well with that spirit of community revival.

An original concept plan produced at the beginning of 2021 was soon acted upon with the help of local volunteers and in collaboration with a range of organisations. To date this has resulted in the planting of woodland and hedges, a wildlife pond, gardens for quiet reflection and appreciation of flora that abounds in the countryside. A beautiful orchard yielding a variety of fruit and a welcome to Wild Heritage Suffolk who are managing the vegetable beds. The playground is appreciated by all the children and young people in the village as well as their carers who now have somewhere to take them for recreation and outdoor activities.

As we are moving into the next five years of the project there is much to do, with the major part being the construction of a community room//hub with kitchen and toilets. When the next five year plan is written in 2030 we hope the room will be on the meadow and well used.

If you would like to know more or if you feel you can support this exciting community-led project through funding, joining our volunteer teams or in any other way, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Desiree Shelley