Historic papers may rescue allotments

ARCANE planning policy dating back more than a century may be the key to allotment holders in Huddersfield saving their plots from the bulldozer.

A long-running stand-off between tenants at Cemetery Road Allotments in Birkby and planning chiefs at Kirklees Council came to a head in a judicial review at the High Court in Leeds.

Former teacher Jonathan Adamson, representing plot-holders, had trawled through council documents to support their argument that the land was designated as allotments as far back as the 1930s by Huddersfield Corporation.

For the council, barrister Christopher Knight sought to prove that the gardeners’ plots had never been made permanent.

The council wants to take part of the site to provide playing fields and a car park for a new £9.7m primary school to serve Clare Hill in neighbouring Edgerton.

Plot holders have been offered new allotments.

Tenants say alternative land is available close by, but that the council has chosen to take their allotments in a way they claim ignores their status as permanent. The case has come under scrutiny nationally. Some have called it a test case for other groups facing similar scenarios to that in Birkby.

“Kirklees’ position is that Cemetery Road has never been appropriated [as allotments] - that they have always remained temporary,” said Mr Adamson.

“Our case is that if you look through the terms you can see what I could call appropriation: permanent status and security of tenure.”

For the council, Mr Knight said: “The land was generally held by the council [and] the council could let part of it for allotments without appropriation.”

And in a reference to Mr Adamson’s use of archival material he warned: “We should be wary of over-interpreting documents. That is a trap that we can fall into. “It is not the council’s case that a delay would be fatal to the school, but it is detrimental.”

The judge, Mr Justice Kerr, said he would deliver his judgement in a few days’ time.

Afterwards, Mr Adamson, from Edgerton, said: “Sitting there while the council made its submissions I did feel brow-beaten by the sheer length and persistence with which it talked about things that were irrelevant.

“It will come down to the balance of probability. The judge will look at the legislation and decide whether Cemetery Road Allotments are in fact statutory.”

Allotments group spokeswoman Debby Fulgoni added that she didn’t think the council’s arguments had any substance.