VILLAGERS in Brompton Regis will next week celebrate the 25th anniversary of the opening of their Millennium Green.

It was in the 1990s that the community bandied together to fund-raise to buy an eyesore piece of land close to the parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and turn it into a village green.

They raised £11,000 toward the £55,000 purchase price and secured grants from the Millennium Commission, via the Countryside Agency, and two family environmental trusts.

The project was completed in 2001 and an official village green opening held during a May Day bank holiday party.

Now, the charitable trust which was set up to own and maintain the green is believed to be one of only a few surviving in the Westcountry.

Many other communities which also created Millennium village greens found it too troublesome to maintain them over the years and ownership was passed to local councils.

Brompton Regis residents will be holding events on the green to celebrate a quarter of a century of village ownership on Sunday, June 14.

The green continues to be maintained by volunteers, supported by grants from the parish council, the Brompton Regis Show and Gymkhana, and other village events such as the lunch club.

It has had a pond installed to attract newts and other water-loving creatures, a small wildflower meadow was sown, and fruit trees and an edible hedge planted.

Areas of grass alongside the walls were left to grow, giving shelter for smaller animals, and the beds were planted with roses and other varieties of sweet-smelling plants.

Bug hotels and bird boxes were donated by local businesses.

A spokesperson for the trustees said they hoped people would continue to enjoy the green and that, ‘every now and then, it lifts your heart with pride for what our village has achieved over the last 25 years’.