Nuttery planted in Portishead

PEOPLE will soon be able to pick nuts to eat at Portishead's first nuttery.

Portishead in Bloom members teamed up with Transition Portishead and volunteers from Harbourside Womens' Institute up to plant the nuttery on land at Stoney Steep, just off Avon Way.

More than 40 trees have been planted on the site - which is owned by North Somerset Council -  including walnut, hazel and sweet chestnut, all of which have all been donated to the project.

When the trees start to fruit, people from the town will be able to go along and help themselves and it is expected it will take between four and five years for the trees to fruit.

A nuttery used to exist in Portishead in the 1800s at the former Como Hotel at West Hill.

But it was destroyed when the hotel was developed into flats.

Transition Portishead spokesman Jon Gething, who has helped to organise the project, said: "Nuts are a valuable protein source and nutteries were once as common as orchards.

"We want to develop more local food sources and encourage community gardening and the nuttery is a good example of what we are trying to do."

Portishead in Bloom volunteers are hoping the nuttery will be an added attraction when the South West in Bloom judges visit the town for the annual competition later this summer.

The town was awarded a silver gilt medal in the Urban Communities category for Port Marine and the Village Quarter and a gold medal in the awards last year.

Portishead in Bloom chairman, Sandy Tebbutt, said: "When Portishead in Bloom won a silver gilt medal in the national finals last year, the judges were very interested to hear of our nuttery plans and said it was the first time that this idea had been tried by an 'in bloom' group.

"We want to encourage greater community involvement in the town so we were delighted with the number of volunteers that turned out on a wet and windy Sunday morning to plant the trees we have collected."