Introductory document
A Community Garden is a plot of land which is looked after by the community - a group of people who like gardening and are eager to put their free time and effort into the development and upkeep of a garden for the wider public to enjoy. This need not be just a flower garden; where there is room vegetables can be grown a distributed locally, either by selling them or by donating them to worthy recipients as well as the gardeners.
The size of a community garden is entirely dependent on the availability of land, a small plot for a selection of flowering plants and some annuals, right up to flower borders, vegetable patch and an orchard.
Local action
A number of those wishing to develop a community garden got together to organise themselves and to find a suitable plot of land, and everyone with a similar interest is invited to join the group. The first meeting was held on 20th August 2008 with 11 people attending and a further meeting was held on 17th September. If you are not yet known to the group and would like to attend, please email Rob Palmer for details.
The group has been set up at this time because there are various grants available to establish new community gardens and the group wishes to take advantage of these before their time limits run out.
The organiser of the Community Gardens Group is Rob Palmer.
Next meeting:
Tuesday December 2nd, Church House inn, upstairs room, 8pm.
Notes of meetings:
Allotments
Allotments are also popular and in very short supply in Bollington, but demand is increasing rapidly as the rising price of food drives folk to consider the merits of growing their own. In fact they are in short supply in many places. Macclesfield Borough Council (MBC) have a problem borough wide with the recent sharp rise in demand for allotments. Acquiring suitable land which meets requirements is very difficult. Bollington Town Council (BTC) are pressing the issue and have asked that an item for 'Allotments' appears on every town council meeting agenda.
BTC have a list of up to 40 people waiting for allotments and Cllr Shirley Sockett (BTC, MBC) and Andrea Paterson, Bollington Town Hall Assistant, are working hard to find new land. Cllr Ken Edwards (CCC) and Cllr Ted Clunn (BTC) are also very active.
There are presently three allotment areas in Bollington ...
- Bollington Cross. Situated behind the Leisure Centre, this area is leased by BTC from MBC. BTC collect the rents and manage the site. It is thought that one more plot can be squeezed out of a strip of land at the very edge of the site and this is likely to be offered to the first person on the waiting list. The ground is in bad condition and will require a lot of very hard work to bring it into production. This allotment area has benefited from the installation of a water supply in 2005. This was put in by United Utilities as part of their package of thanks for the town's having to put up with their sewer excavations throughout that year.
- Lowerhouse. There have been allotments at Lowerhouse for almost 200 years when they were established by Samuel Greg soon after he took Lowerhouse Mill in 1832. The area under cultivation has decreased in the past few decades, due to house building and expansion of the mill, and just one area remains. This area is owned by the Heathcote family and they manage and rent out the plots.
- Harrop Road. A small area of land has been cultivated for several decades by local residents. This ground belongs to MBC and is not a formal allotment area. MBC have recently threatened to evict the gardeners and return the ground to waste land but discussions are going on between councillors and MBC officers to try and formalise the status quo and retain the gardens. It is thought that there is room for six plots in total.
The local authority, MBC, has a legal duty to provide space for allotments and community gardens. However, it is not known to what extent they are required to meet actual demand. The MBC officer responsible for allotments is Sue Pine, Leisure Services.
John Kershaw (BTC tree warden) would like to establish a community orchard and is presently also searching for land. Clearly this could be closely associated with a community garden or with allotments.
I am most grateful to David Broadhurst, Bollington Town Clerk, who provided much of the above information.
Composting
The Master Composter Programme is a joint initiative in conjunction with Garden Organic (formerly the Henry Doubleday Research Association). The Cheshire County Council Master Composter Project is recruiting 20 volunteers from across Cheshire who will act as ambassadors for home composting in their local areas.
The project is run by ...
Annelise Brilli, Master Composter Project Coordinator
Cheshire County Council
CH1 6PX
Tel: 01244−973170
Fax: 01244−973746
email
Examples of volunteer work carried out by Master Composters include:
- Giving talks to community, residents and allotment groups about the benefits of composting
- Providing advice on home composting to individual householders
- Setting up displays to promote home composting at garden centres, village fetes and other community events
- Promoting the benefits of composting e.g. through the local media and parish magazines
- Working with council officers to run Home Composting stands at major Cheshire events
- Promoting take up of the County Council’s subsidised compost bins.
If you would like to be a compost volunteer or if you know of any suitable events or activities which our volunteers could get involved in then Annelise would very much like to hear from you.
Links
Groundwork - Community Spaces
Groundwork - Community Spaces - Lottery Fund
Allotments-UK.com
Allotment growing
BBC Gardening - allotments
City Farms and Community Gardens
Local Food Grants
