QED Allotments Group

Chair: Richard Stone, 34 High Street, Swanscome DA10 0AB

Secretary: Robert Johnson, 85 Denver Road, Dartford DA1 3JU

Research Officer: Richard Wiltshire, 10 King Edward Avenue, Dartford DA1 2HZ (01322-409184)

Allotments in Local Agenda 21 ...

"My Lords, the Government recognise the importance of allotment gardening for food provision, recreation and the sustainable regeneration of towns and cities. ... the Government are aware of the value of allotments to the whole community, as well as to the individuals who use them. We feel that local government might well examine the role that it plays in promoting sustainability in its plans under Local Agenda 21."

Baroness Hayman, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, quoted in Hansard, April 11, 1998 (Column 1151)

UPDATE: By the end of the 1997-98 Parliamentary Session 68 MPs had signed early Day Motion 1598. To find out if your MP was one of them, click HERE!

UPDATE: The following Early Day Motion (Number 631: Session 1998-99) was tabled on May 11, 1999:

"That this House recognises the health benefits of allotment gardening, welcomes the good work carried out in communities across the country by allotment garding groups such as the Bolton Allotments Council; notes the value of allotment gardening in leisure provision, exercise, growing fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers whilst providing therapeutic health benefits; and calls upon the Government to overhaul allotments legislation and do all it can to protect allotment sites in the future especially in the interest of allotment holders."

By the end of the Parliamentary Session a total of 82 MPs had signed EDM631.

For other information on EDM631, click HERE.

About QED Allotments ...

QED Allotments is overseen by the Dartford Allotments Steering Committee (DASC), an informal grouping of local allotment associations established in September 1996 following discussion of our Launch Document which summarised ways in which allotment gardeners can contribute to Local Agenda 21. DASC operates under a single guiding principle: that no specific action can be undertaken without the consent of any and every participating association that may be affected. In this way the autonomy (and accountability) of individual allotment associations is preserved, but all participants share the benefits of cooperation and mutual assistance. DASC was recognised by Dartford Borough Council in January 1997 as a formal participant in the QED Initiative, and a representative of DASC has been appointed to the QED Steering Group.

The agreed aims of QED Allotments are :

1. To promote the benefits of allotment gardening to the residents of Dartford.

2. To facilitate the dissemination of information on best practice in allotment gardening.

3. To assist Associations individually and collectively in the definition, planning and execution of projects which meet the aims of Local Agenda 21.

4. To provide support whenever possible for other QED activities.

The group has its own Research Officer, Dr Richard Wiltshire, and as a pioneer in promoting the contribution of allotment gardening to LA21 it actively seeks links to other allotment organisations in Britain and abroad.

The activities of QED Allotments are described in a regular Newsletter which is available on-line:

• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 1 (March 1997)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 2 (September 1997)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 3 (March 1998)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 4 (September 1998)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 5 (Spring 1999)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 6 (Autumn 1999)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 7 (Spring 2000)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 8 (Autumn 2000)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 9 (Spring 2001)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 10 (Autumn 2001)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 11 (Spring 2002)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 12 (Autumn 2002)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 13 (Spring 2003)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 14 (Autumn 2003)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 15 (Spring 2004)
• QED Allotments Newsletter Issue 16 (Autumn 2004)
• A History of the Formation and Activities of the QED Allotments Group, 1996-98 is also available.

Organisations currently active within QED Allotments include:

• Bean Allotments Association
• Dartford Road Allotments Association (including a full range of Self-Management Documents)
• Dartford East Allotment Gardeners Association (Gore Road Allotments)
• Marcet Road Allotments Association
• Tredegar Allotments Club
• West Dartford Allotment and Garden Society
• Wilmot Road Allotment Holders Association

Agendas and Minutes of Meetings of the Dartford Allotments Steering Committee ...

• Minutes of the Eighth Meeting
• Minutes of the Ninth Meeting
• Minutes of the Tenth Meeting
• Minutes of the Eleventh Meeting
• Minutes of the Twelfth Meeting
• Minutes of the Thirteenth Meeting
• Minutes of the Fourteenth Meeting
• Minutes of the Fifteenth Meeting
• Minutes of the Sixteenth Meeting
• Minutes of the Seventeenth Meeting
• Minutes of the Eighteenth Meeting
• Minutes of the Nineteenth Meeting
• Minutes of the Twentieth Meeting
• Minutes of the Twenty-First Meeting
• Minutes of the Twenty-Second Meeting
• Minutes of the Twenty-Third Meeting
• Minutes of the Twenty-Fourth Meeting
• Minutes of the Twenty-Fifth Meeting
• Minutes of the Twenty-Sixth Meeting
• Minutes of the Twenty-Seventh Meeting
• Minutes of the Twenty-Eighth Meeting
• Minutes of the Twenty-Ninth Meeting
• Minutes of the Thirtieth Meeting
• Minutes of the Thirty-First Meeting
• Minutes of the Thirty-Second Meeting
• Minutes of the Thirty-Third Meeting
• Minutes of the Thirty-Fourth Meeting
• Minutes of the Thirty-Fifth Meeting
• Minutes of the Thirty-Sixth Meeting
• Minutes of the Thirty-Seventh Meeting
• Minutes of the Thirty-Eighth Meeting
• Minutes of the Thirty-Ninth Meeting
• Minutes of the Fortieth Meeting
• Minutes of the Forty-First Meeting
• Minutes of the Forty-Second (and Final) Meeting

The Future for Allotments ...

QED Allotments Newsletter and overall participation in Local Agenda 21 have been cited as best practice in the House of Commons Environment Select Committee's Report on The Future for Allotments.

UPDATE#1: The DETR published its Response to "The Future for Allotments" on September 24, 1998, along with a Press Release which reads in part: Allotment gardening offers benefits for health, leisure, food production and the provision of green spaces in urban areas, Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions Minister Alan Meale said today. Announcing the publication of the Government's response to the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee report, 'The Future for Allotments', Alan Meale said: "Allotments are valuable to local people for recreation and food production, and for the sustainable regeneration of our towns and cities. The recommendation by the Committee that Best Practice guidance on allotments should be drawn up and implemented by local authorities will be of much value. My Department will work closely with the Local Government Association if they decide to take up this recommendation. It is also important that local people are aware of the availability of allotments. The DETR placed an additional requirement on local authorities in March this year to demonstrate the active promotion of allotments before they can dispose of statutory allotment land. This affords statutory allotment land greater protection than it previously had". Allotments are also to be considered in the development of the Department of Health's Healthy Neighbourhoods policy and as part of the development of their White Paper 'Our Healthier Nation'. Section 8 of the Allotments Act 1925 requires local authorities to obtain the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions' consent for the sale or appropriation of statutory allotment land. The Government plans to retain this provision in view of concern about the loss of allotment land. The Government's response to the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee report, 'The Future for Allotments' - ISBN 0 10 140522 7 - price £2.80 - is available from: The Stationery Office, Tel: 0171 873 9090. UPDATE#2: QED has participated in discussions with the Local Government Association on formulating a "Best Practice Regime" for the management of allotments. At a meeting held at the LGA's Headquarters in London on October 23, 1998, QED was tasked with preparing briefing papers on (i) Allotments and Local Agenda 21 and (ii) Regimes of Self-Management by mid-December. Drafts will appear on the QED Website in due course for comment. Notes on an earlier meeting to discuss best practice in allotment management hosted by the LGA can be found in the QED Virtual Potting Shed, along with Notes on the Meeting of October 2, 1998. UPDATE#3: Now available in the QED Virtual Potting Shed: Brief for LGA on Allotments in Local Agenda 21 and Brief for LGA on Devolved Management for Allotments UPDATE#4: The following exchange took place in the House of Lords on Monday December 14, 1998: "Baroness Sharples asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they will take steps to encourage local councils to promote the use of allotments." "Lord Whitty (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions): My Lords, my department is currently working with the Local Government Association, council representatives and allotments interest groups in order to produce best practice guidance on allotments for local authorities. The Government recognise the importance of the promotion of allotments and in March placed an additional requirement on local authorities to demonstrate the active promotion of allotments before they can dispose of statutory allotment land." UPDATE#5: In September 2000 Professor David Crouch and QED Allotments Group Research Officer Dr Richard Wiltshire were jointly commissioned by the LGA to undertake research leading to a "Good Practice Guide" for allotment management. The research ended in March 2001, and in June 2001 the Local Government Association published the resulting report as Growing in the Community: A Good Practice Guide for Allotment Management.

Exhibit at the Dartford Festival 1998 ...

See the text of our exhibit, which was modestly titled: We are ... the Future for Allotments!

Biodiversity on allotment sites ...

See our response to the DETR consultation document on Making Biodiversity Happen.

Sustainable development in the UK ...

See our response to the DETR consultation document on Opportunities for Change.

Pressures to build in urban areas ...

See our response to the SERPLAN consultation document on a Sustainable Development Strategy for the South East.

UPDATE #1: On August 21 SERPLAN published its analysis of the responses to the public consultation document (as SERP416). There were over nine hundred responses to the document, most of which were from local authorities, but one response was from an allotments group - QED Allotments. Section 8.4 (page 11) of the analysis states:

"Specific points raised about detailed environmental policies suggest that the strategy should ...give strong protection to urban open space, including policies to protect allotments and emphasise their contribution to high quality urban living, health and community development ..."

UPDATE #2: The SERPLAN Strategy has now been published, as "A Sustainable Development Strategy for the South East" (SERP 500, December 1998). The Strategy makes explicit reference to allotments in connection with Policy EE1 (Urban Enhancement and Improved Management), which reads: "Special priority should be given to achieving a significant improvement to the urban physical environment". Section 3.1.10 (Urban Green Space), which falls under this head, states: "The regional strategy seeks to maximise the extent to which the benefits of new development can be concentrated in existing urban areas. ... However, a key asset for both recreational and conservation purposes will be urban green space including parks, gardens, playing fields, allotments ... . The concentration of new development in existing urban areas should not be carried out where it would lead to a loss of land which has conservation and leisure value as open land."

UPDATE #3: In February 1999 the QED Allotments Group submitted its Response to SERPLAN on the document "A Sustainable Development Strategy for the South East".

UPDATE #4: For a discussion of how Local Agenda 21 can help to protect allotment sites in urban areas, see Allotments and Local Agenda 21: A View from Dartford, a paper presented at the NSALG's Annual Conference in Plymouth on June 4, 1999.

The Urban Task Force ...

See our response to the Urban Task Force's Final Report, Towards and Urban Renaissance.

The Urban Green Spaces Task Force ...

See our response to the Urban Green Space Task Force's Final Report, Green Spaces, Better Places.

Dartford's Local Plan Review ...

See our response to the consultation document on the Borough of Dartford Local Plan Review for our vision of how more allotments will be required in the new residential areas in East Dartford.

UPDATE: On March 30, 2000 the Deposit Draft of the Borough of Dartford Local Plan Review was published. See our Response to the Local Plan Review Deposit Draft for some excellent news!

Responses to other Dartford Borough Council consultations ...

• Response of the QED Allotments Group to Dartford Borough Council's Corporate Strategy Document
• Response of the QED Allotments Group to Dartford Borough Council's Environment Plan
• Response of the QED Allotments Group to Dartford Borough Council's Community Development Plan
• Response of the QED Allotments Group to Dartford Borough Council's Draft Best Value Performance Plan
• Response of the QED Allotments Group to the Dartford Community Safety Strategy
• Response of the QED Allotments Group to the Planning and Design Brief for the Former West Hill Hospital Site

Allotments in Thames Gateway ... The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's "Greenspace Strategy for Thames Gateway" recognises the importance of allotments within Britain's fastest growing urban area: "4.21 Kent is known throughout the world as the Garden of England, but relatively little fresh food is currently grown within Thames Gatewy. Allotments, community gardens, urban farms, school orchards, commercial smallholdings and market gardens can all contribute to the greenspace network and offer ways for local people to have more direct contact witha supply of healthy food. The promotion of faarmers' and fishermen's markets and the identification of local produce on restaurant menus can also help to stengthen the links between the highly developed inner urban areas and the more rural outer fringes of Thames Gateway". (ODPM, Creating Sustainable Communities: Greeningthe Gateway, January 2004, p. 22)

Dartford Festival Allotments Competition ...

Congratulations to Paul and Norah Staines of Dartford Road Allotments (pictured left in front of the QED Allotments stand at the 1998 Dartford Festival) for winning the Fred Brown Cup for novice allotment gardeners in the 1998 Dartford Festival Allotments Competition, organised by the Dartford Allotments Steering Committee. Keith Henry of Dartford East AGA won the Borough Shield for the best plot in Dartford - for the fourth year running! In the background you can see the sign supplied by QED for Marcet Road Allotments, which was erected on site lduring 1999. To see another of these attractive signs, visit Wilmot Road Allotments. An Allotments Competition for Dartford was revived in 1995 after a gap of four years: the former Borough Competition was abandoned when Dartford introduced a new management regime for allotments in 1991. The competition is judged by taking the highest scores achieved by local allotment holders in the Kent Allotment and Gardens Council's annual county-wide competition.

UPDATE#1: Congratulations to the winners of the Dartford Festival Allotments Competition 1999.

UPDATE#2: Revised Rules for the Dartford Festival Allotments Competition 2000 have been agreed, to bring the judging criteria into line with the aims of Local Agenda 21 and to provide material for our display at the 2000 Dartford Festival.

Links with the Community ...

On August 7 1998 members of the QED Allotments Group joined forces with B&Q to spruce up the exterior of the Swanscombe Community Youth Association's "Action Station" in the High Street, Swanscombe. B&Q provided compost and plants as part of the "Quest" scheme in support of Local Agenda 21, while the allotment gardeners assisted in refreshing the plant stands and hanging baskets which now liven up the street. Pictured here are Janet Howse of the CYA and one of the Association's many supporters amongst the youth of Swanscombe, along with Richard Stone, Chair of the QED Allotments Group (who is also a plotholder in Swanscombe) and Andrew Corbett from B&Q's Dartford Store. Thanks should also be recorded to Lynne Drewitt of CYA and Neil Williams of B&Q, who helped arrange the event, and Don Lillie of the QED Allotments Group, who provided transport and help with the planting.

For more information about QED Allotments contact ...

... Richard Wiltshire at richard.wiltshire@kcl.ac.uk

- and please let us know about your own activities, so we can post a link.

Other allotment websites worth visiting ...

• Barfield Allotment Society - A comprehensive list of allotment websites in the UK - and home to the dedicated e-mail group for allotment gardeners: Kitchen Gardens. You'll find Stephen here, with all the details of how to subscribe (for free) and join over a hundred other allotment gardeners on the Internet.
• Blackpool Federation of Allotment Associations - A well designed site and useful model for any association or federation just coming on the Net to follow. Other useful sites from the standpoint of both design (they put QED to shame!) and content include Hampton Court Way Allotments Association and the Ealing and Hanwell (Boston Road) Allotments Association, which has recently founded a Local Agenda 21 Allotments Group for that area.
• One Tree Hill Allotment Society - Useful horticultural links, and the host site for the Community Composting Network.
• Dulwich Horticultural and Chrysanthemum Society - another pioneer on the web.
• Burnside Allotments - this Cambridge site leads directly into the evidence presented to the recent Parliamentary Enquiry into "The Future for Allotments": A must for anyone concerned about protecting allotment sites. Your route also for subscription details for the Cambridge Allotments Newsletter (by e-mail).
• Horfield Allotments in Bristol - a huge allotment site with its own community orchard.
• Moorlands Allotments in West Bromwich are well known for their facilities for disabled gardeners.
• Colin and Sue Lawrence have kept an inspiring pictoral record of the transformation of their plot in Paignton from a piece of derelict grassland to a model allotment garden. Shame about the scarecrow's demise though!
• Rosedale Road Allotments - our neighbours across the DARTFORD bridge in Thurrock, who've achieved spectacular results in regenerating their site, in part by accessing landfill tax money.
• Seacroft Hall Allotments - working out from Gavin Keir's plot to all the allotment sites in Leeds. A beautifully crafted website.
• Wavendon Allotment and Garden Society - Another must for anyone concerned about protecting allotment sites.
• Paul's Garden World - your gateway to the uk.rec.gardening web ring (garden websites galore!) plus lots of useful tips.
• A well designed website for an allotments group in Runnymede - though they're not too happy with life and seek horror stories ...
• South East Essex Organic Gardeners - excellent site, with useful content and comprehensive links to the world of organic gardening.
• Sturminster Road Allotments Association in Bristol: their story of allotment regeneration through the Spadeworks project can be found in the QED Virtual Potting Shed.
• Tatnam Organic Patch Project in Poole, Dorset: reclamation of a derelict piece of allotment land for growing organic vegetables and wild flowers, organised by Poole's Local Agenda 21. An excellent model.
• Don't miss the websites for the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners and the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens.
• And then there's Allan Day's Foodgarden e-mail list for everything veggie - and no allotment politics!
• And William Makower's site that's all about allotments at www.growingveg.co.uk.
• And Surrey Docks Farm, the first City Farm in the UK to join the internet.
• Finally, for the very best practice in local government policy for allotments and a constructive approach to the challenge of delegated management, visit the Website for the London Borough of Bromley and look up "Allotments" under the A-Z Index.

Community Gardens links ...

Project 2000 in the former grounds of Cramlington House, Northumberland. A Local Agenda 21 Project in partnership with Blyth Valley Borough Council. "The core value of the Project 2000 team is to promote horticulture and the environment by building a collection of rare and important plant species". The Project has extensive overseas links.

The QED Allotments Group is now listed on the River Radio Website

International Connections ...

Everything you need to know about all forms of urban agriculture (allotments, community gardens, orchards etc) around the world from our friends in Canada at CityFarmer.

Get out your character dictionaries and head for the QED Japanese Allotment Links page!

And read about the visit to Dartford Road Allotments by a delegation from the Mie Women's Centre, Japan.

Scandinavian appeal: check out the Allotments in Oslo, Norway, with photos of each site and fascinating survey data on users.

Plus ....

A hot link to the Henry Doubleday Research Association's Grow Your Own Fruit and Vegetables Campaign!

Enjoy our visit to Potato Day 2000 at Ryton Organic Gardens

The QED Allotments Group is a member of the Shell Better Britain Campaign

NEWS OF AN INTERNATIONAL EVENT! The University of Nottingham hosted a Conference on People, Land and Sustainability: New Directions in Community Gardening on 13-16 September 2000. QED was there! The Report from the Conference was published in April 2001.

New Conference in June 2001:

The International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC) has been campaigning around local food, amongst other issues, for the past ten years. As the latest part of this programme, it recently published a report, bringing the Food Economy Home, which contains a lot of new facts and figures around the globalisation of food, and analysis of related social, environmental and economic issues. ISEC's 'local food Roadshow' will be touring the UK all this year, taking a presentation of these ideas to groups, events and farmers' markets wherever it's invited. The Roadshow consists of a slideshow, an ISEC speaker, an exhibition of A1 posters, and a resource pack - all looking at the benefits of local food production and distribution, with many ideas for action and examples of successful initiatives that are underway. To order a copy of the report, or find out about having the Roadshow in your area, go to www.isec.org

News from Gardening Which?

Gardening Which? has launched a campaign in support of community gardens and community gardeners in Local Agenda 21.

Gardening Which and the Vegetarian Society brought you National Veg Barbecue Day on June 19, 1999!

And a Manifesto on Community Gardens for us all from the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens.