WAR OF THE ALLOTMENTS
Plot holders dig in after Church of England plans to sell 180-year-old site to property developers
‘This is wholly opportunistic’
THEY are some of the oldest allotments in the country, with generations tending the same plots since they were created nearly 180 years ago.
Now, however, gardeners face a battle to keep hold of their land amid plans by the owner – the Church of England – to sell the village site to a developer for housing.
The move by the Diocese of Coventry has horrified members of the Wellesbourne Allotment Association in Warwickshire. Ken Manning, 65, who has been association treasurer for 18 years, said: ‘When one of our plot holders heard, she burst into tears.
‘Wellesbourne could be regarded as the centre of the national allotment movement. It is a fantastic site and people love it.
‘The overall feeling is one of anger. The plans will devastate our community and it will tear us apart. Most of our plot holders will be too old to want to start again. The questions I have are: Why us and why now?’
The private seven-acre plot is used by 96 members and was established in 1841, long before the 1908 Small Holdings and Allotments Act put a duty on local authorities to provide sufficient allotments according to demand.
The allotments boast a shop and regularly hold charity events. The Association said the allotments provided a ‘ valuable social focal point for all areas of our commu- nity, including the elderly, families and the less privileged’.
In 2015 it hosted Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time and this year it featured on the BBC TV show Big Dreams, Small Spaces hosted by gardener Monty Don.
But they say they now face a ‘David and Goliath’ battle with Coventry Diocese. The Diocese has said it would provide alternative allotment sites but members say many of them are too old to start all over again while others who have invested in fruit trees, asparagus beds and sheds or greenhouses would lose out when the site is cleared.
The association also says a lot of homes have been built in the vil- lage recently. A spokesman said: ‘We are concerned that this development is wholly opportunistic by the Diocese with only financial opportunities in mind.’
Plans are yet to be submitted to Stratford-on-Avon District Council but the proposal is said to include a significant proportion of affordable homes.
It is not known how much the Diocese hopes to get for the site, but Mr Manning said it could be millions. The average house price in the village is more than £300,000.
Mr Manning added: ‘We know that there will be 50 houses on the site, so it is low density. They will be big houses, using all of the land, so the developer will sell them off for a high price.’
Allotment chairman Ian Hope said: ‘The allotments provide more than food for our tenants. Many have enhanced their plots, for example with fruit trees or greenhouses that would be bulldozed, losing their long- term investment in the plot as well as the amenity value.’
Pat McDonaugh, 73, who shares an allotment with her brother, and whose father had one since the 1950s, said: ‘Many people here are elderly and I don’t think they would have the time or the energy in their lives to start all over again.’
A spokesman for Coventry Diocese said: ‘Having received advice on the development potential of the land in Wellesbourne, the Coventry Diocesan Board of Finance decided that it would enter discussions with a developer or other third parties that may lead to an application for planning.
‘Any planning permission would be subject to normal development conditions. Any application for planning would be dependent on suitable alternative land for allotments being provided.’