News / allotments
‘These proposals will decimate the green lungs of our city’
An unfamiliar site graced City Hall on Wednesday evening as spades, rakes and baskets of vegetables could be spotted among a crowd of protesters outside the building’s entrance.
Growers from across Bristol’s council-owned allotments came together to protest proposals to hike allotment fees and change what can and can’t be grown on plots.
The council wants to increase fees by more than 75 per cent for some plot holders, and is proposing changes to what can be grown, including the removal of trees and hedgerows above a certain height, and ponds and other wildlife havens that don’t fit the food cultivation criteria.
Campaigners from Bristol Allotmenteers Resist want to see the current proposals thrown out, and a new proposal created which works with the growing community to meet their needs, as well as an increase in rent that is in line with inflation. Bristol City Council has yet to respond to multiple requests by Bristol24/7 for a comment.
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Sarah Venn, from Edible Bristol, has been a vocal opponent of the fee hikes. Speaking at the rally, she said: “The aim of many community groups growing on allotment land in Bristol is to produce affordable, free, health and culturally appropriate food for their communities, and yet these draconian new rules, including the cost of setting up a project will put a stop to those most in need from doing this.”
“We need Bristol City Council to rethink this consultation, which is discriminatory, and bring together a citywide consultation from the grassroots that acknowledges Bristol’s opportunity to turn this around.”
Holly Wyatt, who launched the online petition, which now has over 5,000 signatures, of which more than 2,500 are from Bristol postcodes, added: “We’ve got so many trees that we would pull down with these rules.
“We would move so many wonderful animals that we shared our plots with. We need those ecosystems.”
Alina Hibbert, who rents a small plot at Thingwall Park allotments in Eastville said: “My allotment is not just an allotment, it is my garden, it is my safe space, it is my haven and it helps me with my mental health, and I think that applies to a lot of people here, which is why we are so passionate about this.”
Green councillors Ani Stafford Townsend and Lorraine Francis attended the protest in solidarity with protesters. Green councillors have vowed to work to get the plans thrown out.
Labour councillor Ellie King, who is leading the consultations with Bristol Allotment Forum, a regular meeting of allotmenteers in Bristol, met with growers on Wednesday evening while other protesters remained outside.
Growers hope their concerns will be heard at the meeting so that the plans will be thrown out and a new plan drawn up after the May elections.
All photos: Rob Browne
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