Nearly £100,000 could be spent on transforming nearly three acres of land in Shrewsbury into allotments for the increasing number of people who are starting to grow their own vegetables.
Council bosses say more allotments will have a positive effect and they are asking for land at Bowbrook to be transferred to the new Shrewsbury Town Council on a 125-year lease when the unitary authority is brought in next year.
The announcement comes after it was revealed more people are taking up allotments across the country because of the growing cost of food.
Staff at Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council have received a number of requests for new allotments, especially in the Copthorne area, which is why the two-and-a-half acres at Bowbrook has been suggested.
Councillors will consider whether to invest £98,200 to create the new facility at a cabinet meeting on September 1. The money would go towards security fencing, a compostable toilet and a parking area.
Divided
It would create 22 full size plots, which could be divided into 44 half plots as well as five irregular shaped areas.
The existing council allotments in the borough make up 35 acres and are in Monkmoor, Meole Brace, Harlescott, Column, Castlefields and Sutton Lane.
The hire of allotments gives the council an income of £10,000 a year with a charge of £38 per plot.
Allotment associations have said they want to reduce the waiting list and officers have 14 residents in Copthorne who have all ready expressed interest in having a plot.
A report to the cabinet states: “In the current climate, with rising food prices, increased awareness of healthy lifestyles and environmental impacts on food, this trend is only set to increase.”
Councillors will consider two other options. One is to provide 3.7 acres and an investment of £106,200 and the other is not to provide the new facilities.
But officers state the first option is the best. They would need to ask the countryside unit to stop the grazing licence for the area.
By Rebecca Lawrence
14 Comments
i have a big enough garden to have a large veg patch pollytunnell so are lucky , This all sounds like a great idea to me especially as many houses especially the new ones do not have a garden big enough for a veg patch.
I hope it goes through but alas im sure some group or indivuduall will object to it.
£100 000 for 22 plots? that sounds a lot. they could give the 22 people £500 a year for the next 10 years for that kind of money… I wonder why a toilet, fencing and some tar costs so much…
what a great idea, they should do more, i would love to grow my own, especially with rising food prices, but i dont know where to begin, the support groups you would get on a site like this would be really handy and i would love to have a plot here, its money well spend (marco) if you consider the health benefits, relative to say building a gym, or a football pitch even, that’s very cheap and there is almost no maintenece, indeed it makes money (in rent) for the tax payer
this is a great idea, they spend millions on the sports centres, why not a few grand on the leisure needs of us old folk, well done to them
this is a great plan
Nice one! this is precisly the kind of innovative response to the credit crunch and high food prices I would like to see more of, the national government is sitting on its hands not responding, so its good of SABC to seize the initiative and provide this useful way to help people reduce their living costs
a very welcome idea
A composting loo!? i hope that’s not going on the food crops? Surely that would not be safe, that’s taking organic to the extreme!! I grow my own and I know horse manures ok but human faeces is not safe, i think its great for people to grow their own but they could just dig up their own gardens to do this, the allotments should be placed near flats in deprived areas, where people have no land and struggle with the rising cost of food
See tories are helping people through the tough times - what a great idea - lets grow our o0wn, when david cameron gets in we’ll have an allotment in every village, the labour lot would just build houses on them for the poor
This is great idea, can we have some in Ford too please
great news, more councils should be doing initiatives like this too help poor people reduce their living costs and get more excersize
brilliant - this is just what our area needs!
brilliant, well done shropshire council
a great plan - well done