OFFICIALS at Barnard Castle’s TCR Hub community centre is looking for more helpers following the retirement of their volunteer groundsman.
Graham Moore is credited with making the gardens of the community centre a sustainable and dynamic ecosystem during the nine years that he worked the land.
He also ensured the grounds were immaculately prepared ahead of any large outdoor events, including the recent wellbeing festival.
During the summer months, the Army veteran would be at work before the crack of dawn getting jobs done.
The centre’s community engagement officer Polly Morris said: “He was in multiple times a week – at least four times a week.
“We have a huge area of grounds here and Graham was one of those sorts of people where nothing was ever too much trouble for him.
“We have a really small volunteer team and we don’t employ a groundsman. I think a lot of people assume we do because it is such a lovely big space.”
Along with mowing the lawns, strimming and pruning, Mr Moore could also often be seen clearing out the ponds and tending to the heritage garden with its numerous fruit trees and vegetables.
Ms Morris said: “He knows so much about different species that we have living here at The Hub.
“We have different things in the ponds, in the trees, and down in the wetland area.
“He knows so much about cross-pollination and what plants work with other plants – what he doesn’t know about these grounds really isn’t worth knowing,” she added.
“He is an absolute wealth of information and he was always more than happy to share that knowledge with other staff.”
His gentle approach to gardening was also appreciated by the local wildlife, and he could often be seen chatting to a robin he befriended while working in the heritage garden.
The former sergeant-major also built bird hides in the grounds for others to quietly appreciate the abundance of natural activity at the centre.
Ms Morris said: “He is just a wealth of information about how this beautiful outdoor space works and how it all fits together.
“It is really important that we get the eco-balance right and he knew just how to do all of that.
“He is sorely missed and we hope to do him proud with working in the grounds now because we do have some more volunteers who have come to support us which is absolutely fab.”
Anyone who wishes to volunteer to help with the continued maintenance of the grounds can ring The Hub on 01833 690150.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
