Page 51 - ALG Issue 4 2017

Save Our Wellesbourne Allotments
On the 22nd June this year, the Association of the last remaining allotments in Wellesbourne, Warwickshire, received some devastating news. A planning application would be submitted
on behalf of Coventry Diocese, who own the historic allotment
site, to build 50 houses across the whole of the area. The plan proposes to split the plotholders onto two separated alternative sites, both owned by the Diocese with no guarantee of future security and, which we believe, would ultimately destroy us. We have been guardians of our cherished site for at least 176 years and unbelievable fertility has been built up over that long period as well as close personal friendships and a strong sense of community. This is the third occasion we have been threatened with development but this time it looks like a much more determined proposal.
Our rst reaction was ‘Oh no, not again!’ and our members were predictably angry. When the reality of the situation had sunk in, a plan evolved to ght off this threat. Hence the seeds of SOWA were sown.
Repeated attempts by the committee to get hold of some facts and details from the Diocese to arrange a meeting were ignored;
we were dismayed, but not surprised. More pressure was needed and we delivered more than 400 letters inviting residents to write to their MP, Mr Jeremy Wright. We contacted the Stratford Herald, a provincial newspaper, which was very interested in our plight. We were very pleased when an article appeared on the 29th June on the front page of the paper with further commentary inside. We were amazed to see what immediate impact this article had - it was a key breakthrough in gaining further publicity.
It seemed nearly all 7,000 residents in the village were talking about us and support was received from many local people. We were subsequently contacted by other local newspapers and with the help of South West News Service (SWNS) we began to be contacted by the national media. The following week was incredibly hectic for our committee and plotholders, meeting lm crews and members of the press, giving their views and feelings on the planning proposal through interviews on site and live broadcasts. At the
end of the week we had secured articles in the Stratford Observer, Leamington Courier, Daily Mail, The Observer, The Sun and in The Guardian, were featured on BBC’s Midlands Today and BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire and on BBC Radio 4 “Sunday” on the theology of allotments. Also, we were the lead news item on the 6pm ITV Central news, which was broadcast UK wide. A petition has now started which will be handed to the Stratford District Council and we anticipate getting several thousand signatures. We are planning an online petition too, an opportunity for NAS members to show their support. Our objective is to have our cause debated in Parliament.
National coverage of our plight resulted in letters and emails
of support from across the country, (and even Australia!), some
with offers of help. The unfavourable national publicity eventually provoked the Diocese to contact us and the rst meeting was held on site with their property consultant. From this we gained a better understanding of the in uence that the Parochial Church Council (St Peter’s Church, Wellesbourne) can have on Diocese decisions. We learnt that a plan to develop a grass eld next to the church was abandoned because the PCC objected. However, when the PCC considered plans to develop our allotments they decided not to object without any consultation with plotholders or the association. We feel, as an active participant in the village community, the church has not listened to us, contrary to what we understand to be the teachings of the church.
There is concern from the PCC about the village community being fractured over this proposal but it is clear from the support we have already received that most of the residents of Wellesbourne, including many in the church congregation, do not want to see our allotments developed. It seems to us that the PCC does not represent the views of the local churchgoers let alone the wider community.
A second meeting with the Diocese was arranged this time in Coventry and with the Diocesan Secretary (Ruth Marlow) and the Acting Archdeacon Pastor (Clive Hogger). This we regarded as quite an achievement! During the meeting, we heard about the process
of selecting land for development and the nancial drivers but it was clear there was very little concern for the impact this would have on us as individuals and collectively. In fact, the suggestion was made that organisations (i.e. us) can become stuck in their ways and renewal is something to be welcomed. This is a blatant excuse for disruption and an insult to anyone who understands what allotments are for: in fact, allotments are the perfect example of renewal and new
challenges that arise with the changing seasons. The annual cycle of sowing, growing, maturing, ageing and death applies to the crops we grow and re ects the human condition too. The challenges are varied and unpredictable, depending on weather, pests and diseases.
However, a positive outcome of the meeting was a visit by the archdeacon to our allotments, the rst time this has happened, and an opportunity for our plotholders to express their concerns and hopefully change minds. The message Clive Hogger took away
from our plotholders was very clear and simple: there could be no acceptable alternative to what we already have. The offer of two smaller and separate sites does not give us any greater security of tenure and for us would be like jumping out of the frying pan into the re! Time will tell if minds have really been changed.
The road ahead will not be easy or quick but we do have an important friend and ally in NAS. Early in our campaign we met Tom Terrence, the West Midlands Regional Representative and were offered free legal assistance through the good of ces of Liz Bunting (NAS Legal and Operations Manager). Liz attended the meeting in Coventry which was very useful - it was like having a big brother sitting next to us and advising. We hope she will be available to attend other important meetings in the future.
We continue to explore several different avenues and intend leaving no stone unturned to harness local support and the many offers of help in our campaign to demonstrate why our allotments must be preserved for the future. Our long-term aim is to protect Wellesbourne Allotments on the present site for everyone in the village for ever, in perpetuity. We hope our story and experiences, even at this early stage, may be of help to other allotments who may nd themselves in a similar situation.
We all know about the bene ts allotments can bring: good food, exercise, mental and physical wellbeing together with the social and community bene ts, and that NAS members will be on our side. Ours is a human story.
We have written an acrostic poem:
Save our allotments from the developers, our plight is plain to see Our allotments mean everything to us and are part of local history Wellesbourne is the village where our allotments reside Allotments are for everyone and we cherish them with pride Further details about our campaign can be found on our website:
http://sowa.org.uk/.
Ken Manning (Treasurer)
For and on behalf of Wellesbourne Allotment Association, our chairman, committee and plotholders
A big Thank you to the Big Lottery
Members of Victoria Allotments Association, in Uttoxeter,
held a summer barbecue in glorious June sunshine. We were celebrating a grant received from the Big Lottery Fund, which has provided a new site shed, and a new gate for the site, both of which should make the site more secure.
The grant also helped us to purchase a new brush cutter and petrol mower for communal use, which will improve the maintenance of our site. The Big Lottery Fund provides grants of up to £10,000 to applicants who can meet their straight forward criteria, and we are delighted to be recipients of our much-needed grant.
Helen Loughton on behalf of Victoria Allotments Association
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