Will NLGN policy victory mean a new ‘Dig for Victory’?

Posted by Nick Hope, Senior Researcher, NLGN on March 11th, 2010


In September NLGN’s publication ‘Can You Dig It?’ made the case for a bold new approach from the Government to facilitate an allotment renaissance, which is being held back by chronic shortages of available land. We argued that residents and community groups should be able to access land on a temporary lease basis through a land bank of spare privately held and public sector land.

Our calculations identified 3025 hectares of vacant “brownfield” land – owned by the public sector and not yet allocated for any specific use – in urban areas or within 500 metres of a built-up area. However, more than half of “brownfield” land is privately owned and so we called for private landowners to also be included in any scheme.

Last week, with very little fanfare, John Denham and Hilary Benn implemented our proposals and announced a new national community land bank, which will act as a broker between both public and private land-holders and community groups who want somewhere to grow food. This is a big step forward and it could potentially help thousands more people grow their own fruit and veg.

All parts of the public sector should get involved, but the success of the initiative will be largely reliant on big private land owners signing-up to the scheme, as the top 1% of landowners own 70% of land in the UK. Therefore we urge the Government to reserve the option of empowering communities to temporarily lease small plots of unused land from these big landowners on a compulsory basis at a later date, if they do not voluntary opt-in to the scheme.

Hopefully the social conscience of the nation’s largest private landowners will suffice, but if by chance you happen to be one of them and need convincing, you should know that allotments can…

[deep breath]

…improve people’s quality of life, prevent social exclusion, increase physical exercise, encourage a nutritious diet, support mental health, combat stress and help people relax, teach new life skills and the importance of deferred gratification, give individuals self-esteem, reconnect people with the food they eat, educate citizens about healthy food and environmental stability, tackle carbon emissions, reduce food packaging, support more sustainable waste management, conserve biodiversity, facilitate social interaction, build cohesive communities, strengthen social ties and networks, reduce reoffending and crime and secure our nation’s food supplies.

If you need another reason – I’ve consulted some vegetable sowing charts and, for most of England, March is the time for allotmenteers to plant seeds for their broad beans, turnips, spring onions, rocket, broccoli radishes, leeks, onions, carrots, brussels sprouts, artichockes, parsley, shallots, spinach, cauliflower and beetroot. So, there is no time to waste.


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Comments

  • Tim Mcallen
    Congratulations. It must feel good to see NLGN policy proposals actually initiated… even if it is to little fanfare!
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