A HOUSING developer building an estate Basingstoke has helped to fund a school community project.

Bovis Homes, which is building the Hounsome Fields development, contributed £250 towards topsoil for the community garden project at Dove House Academy.

The school, which has 229 pupils aged between 11 and 19 across two sites in Basingstoke, provides a specialist curriculum for young people with moderate and severe learning difficulties, including autism.

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Basingstoke Gazette: Pupils working on the land

Dave Dupont, interim principal at Dove House Academy, said: “The community garden has improved the overall look of the area and taken it from wasted land to a useful and attractive community project.

“Students have been able to make choices about what is planted and then see the fruits of their labour, from seed to flower.

“The donation has meant that the area has been able to continue to develop and will enable more wildlife to join the area leading to neighbours in the surrounding community becoming more engaged in the project.

"We are grateful for the support from Bovis Homes and feel that it will lead to further nature connection from our students.”

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Alix Laflin, marketing manager at Bovis Homes, said: “At Bovis Homes, we believe that supporting the communities where we build is now more important than ever.

“Dove House Academy provides children who have learning difficulties with an educational experience they simply would not enjoy in a mainstream school.

“Their community garden is just one of the many projects that enable its pupils to learn new skills and increase their independence and we are extremely proud to support it.”

Bovis Homes is building a mix of two, three, four and five-bedroom homes at Hounsome Fields, on land off Winchester Road, opposite Basingstoke Golf Club.