Paul Davies Assembly Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire was pleased to accept an invitation, from the Trustees of Pembrokeshire Mencap to visit Stackpole Walled Gardens on Wednesday 15th February.

During a tour of the extensive gardens the Manager Debbie Drewett gave Mr Davies an insight into the work of Pembrokeshire Mencap providing worthwhile work experience, recognised qualifications and community involvement to local adults with learning disabilities.

Mr Davies visited the site of a new visitor centre in the gardens where he met trustees Ian Wilshaw and Mike Evans and where Architect, Jim Allen, explained the construction of the building.

Mr Davies commented -

"I was delighted to visit the Mencap Gardens in Stackpole. This is a fantastic facility used by many students and volunteers throughout Pembrokeshire. It's absolutely clear that the gardens give students the opportunity to develop their skills as well as boosting their confidence to deal with everyday life. I was very impressed with the tremendous range of plants and vegetables that are grown at the garden. The new centre which is currently being constructed will be a great addition to the facility, and I was very impressed to see for myself the hard work of the Prince's Trust volunteers in building this."

Volunteers from the Princes Trust, led by Steve Blunt, are building the walls for the centre from straw bales and Mr Davies happily lent a hand by laying some bales.