A chocolate garden has been created to celebrate the redevelopment of the site of one of York’s top confectionary factories.
Latimer, the development arm of Clarion Housing Group, has commissioned the garden inspired by the chocolate at the famous Rowntree’s factory on Wiggington Road, Clifton.
The site, next to the current Rowntree’s (now Nestle) is transforming into two residential developments called The Cocoa Works and Cocoa Gardens.
The garden has been sculpted by renowned chocolatier Ashley McCarthy, who is based at Colton, near York, and has appeared on the Channel 4 series Extreme Chocolate Makers.
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His creation pays homage to the factory’s legacy, with elements inspired by famous confectionery first created there including Aero, Milkybar, KitKat and Yorkie.
Through its redevelopment of the Rowntree’s factory building, Latimer has delivered 279 homes at The Cocoa Works, with 30 per cent available on affordable tenures.
At its adjacent Cocoa Gardens development situated on the factory’s former grounds, Latimer is delivering 302 new modern homes, 36 per cent of which will be available on affordable tenures.
Standing at roughly 180cm tall at its highest point and covering a 2m by 1m area, the chocolate garden showcases features including a wishing well complete with bubbles, woodland creatures, bird table, flowers, fishing garden gnomes, footpath and flowers.
The chocolate garden was officially unveiled with the help of primary school children from Haxby Road Primary Academy in York who were the first to see the installation and enjoyed a live chocolate sculpting demonstration from Ashley.
Tom Webber, regional development director at Latimer said of the garden: “We know that the Rowntree’s factory is such an important part of York’s history. It’s a place that meant so much to people in York, many of whom will have fond memories of family and friends who used to work there.
“It’s therefore incredibly important to us to ensure that we respect and reflect the positive legacy of Rowntree’s through our redevelopment and the commissioning of this chocolate garden to celebrate the site’s illustrious heritage is just one of the ways in which we are doing this.”
Chocolatier Ashley McCarthy said: “Everyone knows the significance of Rowntree’s to York’s heritage and it’s really exciting to be involved in a project that pays homage to that.
“This chocolate garden is one of the largest, most immersive projects I’ve worked on, and I’m so pleased with the end result – it really does make an impact when you see it up close.”
The chocolate garden is installed in the sales and marketing suite of The Cocoa Works on Haxby Road and is available for the public to visit throughout October.
For more information about The Cocoa Works and Cocoa Gardens visit: https://www.thecocoa-works.com/
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