Search for land - the story so far

Since November 2010...
We are now planting and developing the 7 plots that make up our Allotment Gardens (Lotti) on Hagg Hill and looking to make this our permanent home

We are growing again | November 16, 2010
We have been able to agree to a partnership with an existing group working on a community allotment (affectionately called Lotti), on Hagg Hill.  We are going to work with group to help them develop the land and make it more productive.

We won’t be able to do all the things we hoped to do but it is a great start and means we get our hands dirty developing our skills and building a community of local food growers.


Withdrawal from Land on St Anthony Road | October 24, 2010
We have carefully considered the position and have decided to terminate the lease we have with the land-owner of the land near St Anthony Road at the earliest opportunity. However, we have made a first payment and would like, if we can, to recoup that cost as we have been unable to proceed with the land. We know that there are local residents who would be interested in taking on plots, either individually or as a group and intend to see if we can facilitate this by our putting in a good word for them with the land-owner. They will, of course, need to agree a separate arrangement with him direct.

We will now engage in a concerted effort to find a more suitable plot. We aim to try to identify a number of options and then select the one that offers the best prospects, as it is very unlikely that any will be perfect and some may be some distance from Crosspool.

We will also be drawing on this experience, and others we hear about, to inform how we next approach the issue of engaging with local residents.

In the meantime if we can help with other projects or support other food growing initiatives we will be glad to.


Reviewing our options | October 16, 2010
Following a bruising experience relating to the land we leased near Crookes we are now reviewing our options for going forward. We remain determined to work towards our vision and are very grateful for the growing support that our project is attracting. Watch this space!


Signing a lease | August 25, 2010

We found a block of privately owned land on St Anthony Road that used to be lots of allotments and have signed a lease for a good chunk of the most central plots.

They will need a great deal of work before they are going to yield much food but it is an extremely exciting stage and we can, at last, get a tangible vision of what we might be setting up.

Our next stage is to work towards seeking planning permission for what we want to do – starting with talking to the Council and to local residents. We are keen that those who will be our neighbours feel that we can bring something positive to the locality by growing and working on this formerly derelict piece of land. 


A possible private site | June 14, 2010

Yes, it is finally here. We have been visiting some land a few times now and, if we want it, it does seem likely to be available to us. In fact, there is so much of it that we have to make some hard decisions about which plots we actually want.

Then all we need to do is to clear it of the massive overgrown stuff that is there (the land has been allotments over many years but not looked after for some time).


Disappoint over possible land | May 19, 2010

We have been looking at a plot of land that seemed a good prospect for us and, with the agreement of the Council who own it, we initiated contact with the local residents and land-owners to explore their reactions.

We had a meeting with what proved to be a large group at 6.30pm on 19 May who, while they support what we are trying to do, are very clear that the proposed land is not the right place for this. There seems no prospect of addressing their concerns so we will continue to seek a better site.

Some of them have given us some leads which we will now investigate – privately owned land that might be suitable.

Watch this space!