calnetalk.com

allotments for calne · Newbie Joined: 21 Oct 2009 Posts: 5 Status:

I have posted this elsewhere on the forum but I am trying to reach a broad audience to bring pressure to bear on our unresponsive Council.

I have been trying to obtain an allotment for about 2 1/2 years and don't seem to be moving up the list.

I have had a number of discussion with members of the Council about better provision of land and have attended a council meeting to point out the short comings of the Council in this respect.

Bear in mind that it was the Council who sold off the allotment land at Stokes Croft for housing and spent the money on a grandious sports ground at Beversbrook. Admittedly they did, under a lot of pressure, find a corner for a few allotments to keep the peace.
However, I feel that they should find land to the South or East of the town for the us of local people.

We are being lectured about a green enviroment, healthy eating with 5 a day advisors supplied by government and about food miles and so on. It is fairly pointless to grow your own food and then drive from one end of town to the other to harvest a couple of carrots for Sunday lunch and therefore the provision should be local or central to the town.

We live in a rural area and I am convinced that a local landowner or farmer must have a pocket of unproductive land that they would happlly rent to the Town Council for a nominal sum, but there seems to be an unwillingness on the part of our Council to play their part in helping their residents to enjoy a healthy life.

I know that I am not the only person on the waiting list and I would like anyone who is also waiting to contact me so that we can form an effective lobby group at [url]allotmentsforcalne@googlemail.com [/url]
I look forward to hearing from you, and please tell your friends and neighbours about this fight

Chris P Bacon · Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:42 pm Post subject:

How to formally request provision
for allotments from your council
Each council decides for itself how much of its
resources to devote to allotments. However,
if a council considers there is a demand, it
has a statutory duty to provide a sufficient
quantity of plots and to lease them to people
living in its area. If local people feel there is a
demand for allotments that is not being met,
they can get together any six residents who
are registered on the electoral roll and put
their case to the local authority to consider.

Extract taken from Farmgarden.org

allotments for calne · Newbie Joined: 21 Oct 2009 Posts: 5 Status:

Thanks for that Chris P,

You are right, however I need to find some other people who are either on the waiting list or who would like an allotment to allow me to put pressure on the Council.

If you know people in that situation please get them to contact me,

Many thanks.