A council has said it will fund a new community alley garden after workers ripped it out by mistake.
Manchester City Council apologised and said contractors had been responding to a report of overgrown vegetation, but instead had destroyed the intentional planting, trellises and wildlife habitats in the passageway.
It blamed an “inexcusable breakdown in communication and on-site judgement” for the clearance.
Tom Marrett, who helped establish the original garden in the Levenshulme area of Manchester, said it was a “relief” the mistake had been acknowledged, and while “you can’t build a garden overnight” he hoped more people from the community would get involved in the restoration.
Redgate, which holds the council’s passageway-cleansing contract, confirmed it was involved in the work and said it had spoken to residents about reviving the garden.
Marrett said residents hoped to buy mature plants and trees to accelerate the restoration, while increased interest from neighbours could allow more people to become involved.
“Sometimes negative things can have a positive impact,” he said.
Marrett said he hoped the community could use the response to help the garden “bounce back stronger”.
