Moat Community Garden at Millbank

12/12/2025

We gained 106 followers, created 3 posts and received 6 reactions in the past 90 days! Thank you all for your continued support. We could not have done it without you. 🙏🤗🎉

16/10/2025

New Research into Millbank Community Building Practice

A lot of MCW initiated projects are accompanied by research whether with direct involvement of local residents or in providing and practices to academics. Over the past 20 years projects like , , and academic work by Prof Ezio Mancini, Dr Marsha Bradfield and Shibboleth Shechter - amongst others - are documenting Millbank Estate residents‘ path exploring new ways of locals engaging collaboratively, with a variety of partners improving the place they call their home. Intrigued by the discovery of the Moat Community Garden during a previous observation, today the estate was visited by researchers Dr Mehga Rajgurru and Esther Draycott from . They are interested in furthering knowledge on community based initiatives, how locals use their own resources and initiatives to improve the spaces in which they live. Including a number of other locations in their research, in Millbank‘s case the focus is on the Moat with its still used washing lines and the community garden. And like with many other linked projects there is an international dimension. This time with the involvement of India based researcher Rupali Gupte. The project funding is provided by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council and seeks to explore local knowledge and skills in support of future housing in the UK and India. Incidentally the Moat Gardeners had been using for years high quality BioChar products made from recycled, organic Coconut shells in India. The 2 visiting researchers were also interested to hear about Millbank TMO as well as
, which is a further, research accompanied initiative by residents and supported by local organisations like Millbank TMO, ChelseaUAL and Tste Britain looking at the whole Millbank Conservation Area through the lens of ZeroCarbon targets and a potential Regenerative Neighbourhood in the heart of Europe‘s largest Metropolis.

04/10/2025

When we can include again children in Moat Garden activities we can repeat the so successful Kids Veggie Harvesting and Veggie Pasta cooking event we run pre 2017. At that time we also worked with local Primary School pupils who had 3 planters in the Moat they looked after during regular sessions. Incidentally, the school changed its name recently to Millbank Gardens Primary Academy.

Join us next week at RHS Wisley for our new Plot to Plate event on 8-12 October, where gardening meets gastronomy.

RHS Wisley’s chefs and food experts host live cooking demonstrations at RHS Hilltop to shine a light on using seasonal, homegrown produce. Watch as they transform fresh ingredients grown right here at RHS Wisley into delicious recipes and discover how to make the most of what’s in season.

Find out more about this exciting event here https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley/whats-on/plot-to-plate

24/09/2025

Engagements by local residents in the Moat Garden, MillbankCreativeWorks and Millbank Estate TMO keep attracting people who have a professional interest in housing and community developments. Amongst them are a number of British and international universities, leading to Millbank featuring in a number of essays, books and conferences. The latest approach is from Brighton University.

10/09/2025

The Summer that was… What a shame it couldn’t be finished… even not with the help of experts. But as Rimantas said: there is next year.

18/07/2025

After weeks of disruptions in the Millbank Moat Community Garden and innuendo spreading out across the estate the final delivery of the regeneration project has today been halted with WCC announcing a decision to stop the grant funding and no further work can take place until a number of issues are resolved that are at the heart of the disruptions.
JustCollaborate/MillbankCreativeWorks has asked WCC to facilitate the reestablishment of Moat Garden Panel representing the gardeners and possibly other interested parties. Whilst the Moat Garden stop for this year is regrettable the overall initiative - embrassing the wider with Tate Britain, ChelseaUAL and other stakeholders - will continue.

14/07/2025

This past weekend Millbank Estate Management Organisation (MEMO) had to remove an “Urgent Notice” from Millbank blocks’ Noticeboards. Created by 2 resudents literally squatting the Moat and with a histories of ASB and other issues l, the Notice was also distributed direct to residents letterboxes. The Notice contained false claims and a deformed narrative, asked residents to join the 2 originators in a so called Moat Garden Co Operative. The initiators are known for repeatedly creating Health & Safety issues. They also disrupted contractors and other residents trying to establish 19 new wooden planters. They were going to be filled with 15 tons of organic compost donated by Krinkels Garden Landscaping. The compost is now in a heap waiting for the remaining 13 planters to be built. A Rhino Greenhouse, new toolshed and a large community table are also waiting to be installed. A £500 indemnity insurance is wasted as insurance policy requirements are contravened by the 2 characters’ activities. Event and project partners such as London Garden Trust and WCC’s advisors Hammersmith Community Gardens Association found working with this 2 residents in the Moat to challenging and inviting visitors to risky. Both organisations and carpenters cancelled their engagements. Grant holding charitable organisation JustCollaborate/ MillbankCreativeWorks had to agree. In order to finish the disrupted work and ensure continuation of the past success trajectory of the Moat Community Garden WCC as the landlord has now been asked to facilitate the creation of a Millbank Estate Community Engagement Forum. The Forum will support activities but also ensure community activities/events taking place on WCC owned land have regard to existing policies and rules can be enforced. JustCollaborate/MCW, Millbank TMO and neighbouring Peabody Residents Association well come this move and look forward to progressing this as quickly as possible.

05/07/2025

19 new wooden planters, a greenhouse (see photo) and much more would now celebrate their first month in the rejuvenated Moat Community Garden if contractors could have worked in peace and no H&S issues had disrupted the funded project, part of the initiative supported by key stakeholders. The general chaos and heap of compost in the Moat would all be long gone. 17 gardeners were looking forward to start with their new planters. Most of them have now walked away from the group because of the unbecoming public behaviour of very few people they don’t want to be associated with. The culprits latest display was a week ago making spurious allegations against an absent person during a public meeting organised by our MP. It’s a repetition of a behaviour on show during Millbank TMO’s AGM. Some of this people have been taken to Court and had Court Orders issued against them because other vulnerable neighbours and gardeners were abused. The estate
Management staff also get abused. The police has a history of such. But claiming vulnerability seems to give these people a free passport to disruption, abuse of public services and slandering neighbours. Westminster Council has finally realised how weak laws are open to abuse basically protecting offenders and anablecthemnto frame their victims as villains. Maybe the tuffned up Westminster Council PSPP currently in the public consultation phase will finally provide a solution for persistent misbehaviour in and abusers of public spaces. The new policy will come into effect during August 2025. In the meantime things in the Moat may still just taking their cause with other affected residents like the chair of Peabody’s Millbank Housing Association and her neighbours residing in the dwellings behind the Moat Wall also becoming increasingly frustrated. Their complaints are not answered by the Council but circulated within WCC as problems with the Moat Garden project, which in reality it is not! Never had been for 9 years! It is a few residents having no respect for others and no regard for rules applying when using public spaces, never mind benefiting also from public funding and related voluntary work by others. One of this guys stated in 2017 and kept repeating it: “I will take over this garden. There is nothing that can be done against me. I’m vulnerable”. Over the years he has destroyed artefacts and gardening paraphernalia worth way over £4000. None of it belonged to him. He has over the past 3 months squated into almost the whole Moat Garden as his territory. However, he complains about others being dictators, liars and bullies mixed repeatedly with the undefined threat:“I will get you“. When it gets critical he begs for peace and offers appologies for what he did. Only to soon misbehave again and of late claim „never to make peace“. So how do you take it when observing a 30cm kitchen knife being left for a week on public display in the Moat? A spade left for weeks in similar circumstances? Gates wide open? The next school is 50 meters away teaching highly vulnerable kids? Millbank Primay Academy is similarly positioned but in the opposite direction. What do you do if this is a repetition and no one seems to be interested or have any means to tackle the problem at the core? It’s to complex and whatever one does itcwill cause criticism. So people look away. 2 years ago a previous estate managing director simply locked up the space. So is locking up the otherwise successful community project again the solution? Hopefully it will not come to that! There was once a 40 people waiting list. And ChelseaUAL students, school children and their parents could enjoy gardening without any H&S risks. Right now it’s 2 people who seem to somehow understand each-other and see no problem. And there is the occasional drop in of the gardening group coordinator.

10/06/2025

Any takers from our Community Garden. There is a waiting list. We will organise our own event if enough show their interest. The Lindley Library is in Vincent Square just a short walk from our Moat Community Garden!

05/05/2025

New Members Welcomed!
Past Saturday’s Moat Gardeners’ meeting organised by Rimantas was attended by 3 residents new to the gardening and 3 already active and 4 sending in their apologies. A walk about took place in which the proposed locations for the new planters, greenhouse and toolshed were explored and agreed. It was also emphasised that all gardeners have to accept the rules to make it work for all and in a fair way.
Our participation in the 2025 London Open Gardens was discussed and its visitor engagement activities were reconfirmed, including Poems From The Washing Lines running 2 weeks later. The first 5 of 19 new large veggie planters will go into the Moat just after 17 May. Gardeners will be very busy making them ready for the Open Gardens weekend.

30/04/2025

London Open Gardens Weekend is coming in June. And the Moat Community Garden is on the map. Rimsntas and Wilfried just collected banners and flyers from Lonfon Garden Trust‘s lovely office in St James‘ Park.

01/03/2025

We have received a notification from MetaBox that there are complaints made about this FB page. Please come forward and address the issues direct with Rimantas. Since 2023 he is the Moat space‘s new coordinator who is also representing linked Moat projects on the TMO board. He is regularly active gardening in the Moat where he can be approached. The MEMO office will also listen to complaints and raise them with the coordinator. Currently Moat Gardeners, Washing Line users and visitors are engaging in the space under the 2024 Millbank Estate‘s Courtyard and Sustainability policy. The gardening group is open for all residents who agree to become members under existing rules. Currently access to the Moat is open with sole responsibility laying with users also for their properties. Neither the gardening group nor MEMO accept any liabilities except where an event indemnity insurance is in place. Existing terms of references and rules for general users are currently under revision.
Current initial garden rejuvenating plans are going to be subject to a number of forthcoming public workshops, residents and expert consultations as part of TMO residents engagement policy and acrid the Millbank Conservation Area the initiative with secured funding from Westminster City Council. In 2023/24 after the sudden closure of the space by a previous Estate Manager the gardening group has run a public campaign - also with a stall at - and collected over 100 signatures for the reopening and regeneration of the space as a gardening, informal meeting and learning space. Over the past 15 years it has hosted many collaborative projects such as the Community Fabric Dying, Poems from the Washing Lines and popup ArtTrail. They involved local residents collaborating with neighbouring institutions such as and to name but a few. The events are often coordinated by MillbankCreativeWorks providing organisational structure and coordination. The Moat Community Garden and some of our beautifully cared for Courtyards have become a destination for London visitors and are cited in a number of publications including academic papers. And within the initiative