A NEW £34,500 "green" allotment which aims to give residents experience of growing organic food is to open next week.

The Millerfold allotment project was the brainchild of residents who were consulted about healthy eating and exercise habits.

The derelict and overgrown land, off Millerfold Avenue, Accrington, has been transformed into a horticultural haven.

Funding for the scheme came from the North West Development Agency, Hyndburn Council, and Lancashire County Council's small sites reclamation fund.

The allotment is based around four quadrants with different growing activity in each one.

Fruit trees will be grown in one, with raised beds in another to enable children and people with disabilities to work easily on it.

There will also be a compost shelter on site for waste materials, and volunteers who helped complete the work with Groundwork have set up a water butt system on an adjacent shed roof to create a supply for watering.

One section has also been sown with green manure, including clovers, which grow in the soil but can be rotovated back in.

The final quadrant has been developed into a wild flower lawn area for relaxation and social activities.

The project was co-ordinated by Hyndburn Healthy Heart Project, with assistance from Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Primary Care Trust, and the People of Accrington and Church Together.

A spokesman for Groundwork East Lancashire said: "We did some consultation when it was first set up, especially in the Spring Hill ward, because a lot of the housing is in terraces with no gardens.

"The residents wanted a community allotment site for people to learn new skills without the commitment of a garden.

"The site was just fenced off but it was so overgrown you couldn't see from one side to the other or walk on it for fear of getting lost.

"We cleared the site, refenced it and put in an access path to it and an internal footpath.

"It's all about organic growing, no pesticides will be used. It's very quiet and there's no traffic noise."

The allotment will open on Thursday, June 19.