Page 35 - Allotment Gardener Issue 2 2024

MILE ROAD
SUCCESSES
Mile Road allotment site is a huge site in Bedford comprising 325 plots. They have a member’s trading hut, communal room, orchard, composting toilet and communal growing area. Here, two members of the committee tell us about their site successes.
Carol - For the past two years we have been part of Bedford Christmas Tree Festival at St Pauls Church. The festival raises money for Bedford hospital and in 2023 raised a massive £23,523.66.
Tenant Amanda Brookes, who is a committee member of Bedford hospital Charity and Friends, kindly donates a real Christmas tree for us to decorate. As you can see, Kings’ Seeds also donated towards the tree.
65 trees decorated by community groups, schools and charities are displayed in the Church. Choirs and community groups also entertain us during the 5-day festival. In 2023 the theme was Kings and Queens so we decorated with knitted royal fruit and veg.
We did not win the best adult tree competition however - that’s not why we enter. It’s all about branching out to everyone in Bedford and ringing out the bells of ”growing your own food”.
I am also Secretary for the NAS Eastern Region. Please support your region by attending our regional meetings. We are also hoping to restart Beds Bucks and Herts county meetings soon. Please contact Ray How or myself for more information. Email: cjandrew.nas@gmail.com
Carol Andrew - MRALGA Treasurer
David - Mile Road allotment site was opened in the 1940s. My Dad had an allotment here from 1951 to 1974; they were halcyon days for the site. The allotment site began to run down and in 2008 the site was on a submissions list for building on.
Carol Andrew organised a petition and tenants meeting. I remember it well as it was on a Thursday afternoon in September and around 100 tenants, a councillor and the local press attended. At the meeting, volunteers came forward to organise a committee and we joined the NAS.
Our first Chair was Jake Sale who led us to devolved management in 2010. The run-down hut was given a new roof by Bedford Borough Council. We then needed to organise the allotment shop and this took time as we didn’t have any money.
We were keen to build up a community on site, so we began to organise events including our annual show, plant sale, quiz nights, Christmas wreath making, talks and visits to gardens. Because we have many families on site, we now have a daffodil competition, Easter hunt, Halloween pumpkin carving and even Santa pops by!
In 2012, the Chair at that time was Carol Andrew who steered us forward to become a Company limited by guarantee and then again in 2014 to become a registered charity.
Fundraising is very important. We have new doors for the huts, a defibrillator, access ramps,
rainwater harvesting areas throughout the site and now an electric pallet truck to make moving stock more manageable. Also, polytunnels and greenhouses for plant production - all achieved by fundraising and not rental income.
Tenant Myra Underwood organised the revamp of our tearoom. Maintenance has improved the mains water system with more dipping tanks. Tenant Amanda Brookes has been a tremendous support to the trustees by researching and raising funds for our new Woo Woo toilet.
As we are a charity, we like to help others
and choose a charity to support each year at our annual show. We also have the pleasure of having the TIBBS group on our site and tenant Michael O’Donnell has just raised £500 for them.
In January 2023, we were nominated for the now King’s Award for Voluntary Service. We got through all the stages until November. We did not make the final winners list; however, we did receive a very complimentary letter from Sir Martyn Lewis CBE of the awards committee, and also the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, Susan Lousada.
We now have a thriving allotment site and long may it continue!
David Osborn - Vice Chair MRALGA
For more information, take a look at Mile Road Allotment Site’s website: https://www.mralga.org/index.html
Allotment Gardener | Issue 2 2024 | 35