As allotment committees endeavour to have more power in the face of council cutbacks, what more can be done for urban gardening?
Rows of lush green winter vegetables, a community garden with brightly coloured miniature sheds and gardeners beavering away planning and building ready for the next growing season. This is not a rural idyllic countryside but Pontcanna allotment in our own Welsh urban capital.
Pontcanna Permanent Allotments is one of the largest sites in Cardiff. Its active committee makes it an example of a thriving urban gardening community.
Pontcanna is considered one of the best sites to grow vegetables, as the soil has been cultivated there for over 40 years.
There are currently 28 allotments in the city with over 2,000 tenanted plots and a waiting list as long as five years. Sites, such as Pontcanna, have closed their waiting list.
Yet, a recent report was released this year by Community Food Growing champion Gareth Holden, stating that allotments are poor in quality.
It also shed a light on the inequality between larger allotments managed by active committees compared to those in smaller sites.
So why are allotments generally poor in the city if the demand for urban gardening is so high?
Dispirited and struggling
In the recent economic climate, the council are making cut backs in spending and this includes the Parks department that oversees allotments.
This has had a major impact on allotments left with little funding and support from the local government. Many committees have become frustrated and struggle to maintain their sites.
Larger locally managed sites, like Colchester Avenue Allotment, have been able to deal with repairs themselves, although unofficially.
“We look after the site ourselves”, says site secretary, Roger Williams. “The council work very slowly. We approach them to do things and make repairs but they say we can’t.
“We feel dispirited so we just get on with things ourselves.”
But with smaller sites struggling to do the same, it has now been recommended for those smaller sites to work with larger ones. They can then share resources and the larger community can help with the management and maintenance on the smaller plot.
At the moment it is just Heol Chappell that has formally agreed to be a part of Forest Farm allotments.
“Why not give it up to somebody who wants the land, who will nurture and love it?”
A food fad?
Aside from wanting more official authority and funding, committees also want to be able to evict those who do not tend to their land throughout the year.
“We can now inspect the plots and take pictures but we can’t send the eviction letter”, says Roger. This means that the time taken to evict a plot holder results in the plot becoming overgrown with weeds, when it could be given to someone on the waiting list.
Plot holder, Sandra Howe, blames the long waiting list on the growing fad among young people who like the idea of growing their own vegetables but not the hard work.
“They think it’s easy”, complains Sandra. “They want the perfect life by growing their own food for their families, but they forget they have to dig no matter what the weather.”
Then there are plot holders who don’t cultivate their land but won’t give up.
“They go down to the plot, do a couple of hours work to make the council happy, and then leave. That’s why the list is so long!” exclaims Sandra. “Why not give it up to somebody who wants the land, who will nurture and love it?”
Site committees need more authority in order to evict plot holders who don’t cultivate the land and to take steps to deter those who don’t want the commitment of a plot.
“My advice”, says Sandra, “is come and work with someone who has an allotment. Say ‘hi, do you mind if I help because I really want to know if I’m up to having an allotment?’
“Then people can see how hard and dirty it is”, she adds. “It’s something the council should encourage.”
Unfortunately some plots have become overgrown with lack of cultivation.
Striving for self-sufficiency
As the best allotments are those with a strong community there has been a call for more self-regulation and independence from council control.
Cardiff Council is currently considering whether to outsource the Parks services to a private company who would have authority over the allotments. This scheme is set to be decided before the end of the next financial year. But this proposition has been met with trepidation.
“This worries us greatly”, reveals Roger, “we hear horror stories about private companies.” A major concern for sites is that the private company could sell allotment land as and when they please.
It seems then that allotments do not want to be entirely free from council control, with plot holders like Sandra, happy with the cheap rent rates.
“We hear horror stories about private companies.”
As Gareth explains, having sites like Pontcanna and Colchester locally managed by committees with more authority is a welcomed idea all round. It can also succeed because it puts the power back into the ground where it belongs.
Colchester Avenue Allotment site has now become registered as a local charity as well as an allotment site.
In response to this possible outsourcing, the Cardiff Allotment Holders’ Association (CAHA) have recently become an official body representing and speaking on behalf of the allotment sites.
Chairman of CAHA, Alan McCoy, stated that the association are fully prepared to help run allotments for the Council in order to preserve urban gardening.
Site secretaries feel it is more desirable to devolve power to site committees and have CAHA representing the allotments in council dealings. It allows allotment sites to be run by an active community.
While the habitual gardeners build and plan through these cold winter months ready for spring, there is definite demand for community food growing in Cardiff’s urban ecosystem.
But as for the autonomy of allotment sites in the future, the authority should lie with those who have the experience and knowledge of urban gardening, with the plot holders themselves.
