Houlton residents harvest apples for charity tipple
Residents at Rugby’s newest neighbourhood, Houlton, have helped harvest this season’s apple haul to produce a special batch of apple juice and cider, to help raise money for local organisation Hillmorton Support Group.
Teaming up with local craft-cider company, Healy’s of Winwick, community members collected fruit from the development’s onsite orchard, which will be turned into bottles of the limited-edition charity tipple.
The family-run company will then produce and bottle the wares at its brewery just a stone’s throw from the new neighbourhood, using a variety of Houlton’s apple tree varieties, including Malus Bramley’s Seedling, Worcester Pearmain and Gascoigne’s, Scarlet and other Heritage Species.
Once fermented, the apple juice and cider will be available to buy from local eateries and farm shops, with all proceeds going to support the local community group.
Organised by one of Houlton’s first residents, Steve Gold, the project comes as a joint effort between residents and the Hillmorton Community Support Group, which was set-up as part of its community Covid-19 response.
Going forward, the group hopes to continue to provide support for families throughout the area by delivering a host of Covid-secure activities and initiatives to the growing community.
Galina Bardarska, from Urban&Civic at Houlton, said: “As a growing neighbourhood, we pride ourselves on our strong sense of community and it really was brilliant to see friends and family get involved with the apple picking initiative.
“At Houlton, we’re home to acres of outdoor space, including wildlife habitats, ecology corridors, and of course a variety of trees and wildflower, and it’s been wonderful to see residents make the most of our natural space over recent months.” she added.
Set within 1,200 acres of open space, the new neighbourhood will feature lush green spaces, ponds, wildlife corridors and ecological habitats throughout the development as well as a network of over 8km cycleways and walkways.
