Proposal for community-run allotments in York wins backing

The people of York have perhaps embraced community management more than most. In various guises the city’s library and archive services, and even some of the city’s pubs and cafes, are run co-operatively by members of the community, such as newly opened The Angel On The Green in Bishopthorpe Road.

Now it looks set to be the turn of recreational activities to increasingly fall under the remit of community-spirited locals, as York Council last night opted to explore further a residents’ management model for 18 council-owned allotments dotted across the city.

Just what form this will take is far from decided, but the potential benefit to taxpayers’ is clear.

At present, the council is running its allotments at a loss of £17,000 per annum, an unsustainable sum even though the popularity of allotment keeping is blooming - York has 1,250 allotment plots and a waiting list of 279 people.

A council consultation has yielded a mixture of responses. Some people are keen to take on a voluntary management role, while others fear any handover of financial responsibilities could leave the long-term future of the city’s allotments vulnerable if interest declines.

Even faced with a 27 per cent hike in the cost of renting a plot from January next year, some people are said to favour stomaching the costs.

Others are taking a more pragmatic approach.

Angela Johnson, chairwoman of the Low Moor Allotments Association, said: “With the present lack of funding for local council initiatives from central government, I can understand the council wanting to balance their books.

“Normally I am a strong advocate of council control over services like this but I feel we have to look at what the possible alternatives could be.

“If their management stayed with the council and rents were to go up, the cost may start to be a disincentive for people to take on an allotment in the first place.

“Any alternative management model would however have to be viable and would not have to rely on pure voluntary effort. It would need ongoing monitoring by the council.”

In a report to councillors, Dave Meigh, operations manager at York Council, highlighted how nine other local authorities had adopted the community management of allotments - though none are in Yorkshire.

Mr Meigh said: “We know it can work. It has worked elsewhere across the country but crucial to it is finding the right volunteers to act as managers of a new organisation. We need to formulate the York model and have the right people behind it if it is going to work.

“The city and the council has a long history of working together to run facilities, going back 20-odd years and as well as allotments we are currently working on bowling greens and have just established community management groups to run tennis courts and some areas of land.”