Page 47 - ALG Issue 3 2018

Northern
Blane Valley
Allotments
Spring Meeting 2018
Blane Valley Allotments lie in idyllic rural scenery, nestling at the foot of the Campsie Fells about 12 miles north of Glasgow.
The main activities in the surrounding area, apart from tourism,
are whisky distilling, sheep farming, forestry and pheasant shooting. One may well ask why such an area needs allotments. Certainly the local authority, Stirlingshire Council, has never felt a need to provide them. However, in 2009 the Strathblane Community Development Trust’s Carbon Neutral Group suggested that allotments would be a great idea. The allotment project was taken up with great enthusiasm by members of the local community. They organised funding from the Climate Challenge Fund and other sources, persuaded Sir
Archie Edmondstone of the Duntreath Estate to lease them land,
and successfully steered the project through the planning process. There was opposition to be overcome, and there were difficulties and setbacks. Nevertheless, the site was officially opened in June 2012. It is self-funded and independently managed by a committee of plotholders. There are 30 allotment plots and an area of raised beds used by an after-school club so that local children can learn about growing food.
This year, six years on, Alison Swanson of Scottish Allotments visited the plotholders at their 2018 Spring Meeting to see how things are going. She said:
“The site is absolutely brilliant. Imagine a place surrounded by hills, with a close knit and friendly community, where you can have a shed and grow all the vegetables and fruit you want in the way that you want. There are smaller plots and larger plots on site to suit various needs, and all are arranged around a central area used for communal events.
I particularly liked the fact that none of the plots were, or appeared
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to be, square and plotters were happy to design different sizes and shapes of raised beds. I also liked the fact that different personalities could be discerned in the layout and way that people grew. In terms of physical and practical features the site is very well served. There are two standpipes providing water, which is pumped by solar panels from stored waste water run off from the site. No charges are involved and no worry about frost or bills. There is also manure from passing horses, just lying around to take from the lane leading up to the gate. The soil is slightly acid, being located between hills and it is also slightly boggy. However, plotters and the committee make sure that humus is topped up regularly. When I was there the committee were discussing how to organise bulk deliveries so that every member would benefit from the convenience and reduced prices.
I visited in April when the weather had been atrocious. Planting had not been progressed as much as expected for the season. However, I could not fail to notice the soft fruit which seems to be something that site members excel at growing. Sheena’s Saskatoons and Honeyberries were probably the best examples I have seen recently and the site is well suited to them. The final highlight was being shown photographs of Blanefield’s resident pinemarten by award-winning photographer Martin Shield.
Every allotment site is a community of people growing and every allotment site is different. The Blane Valley allotment group had to work very hard to overcome local objections and establish the site so it was extremely heartening to witness this community now fully developed and going strong”.
Barbara De La Rue and Alison Swanson
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