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Response of the Dartford Allotments Steering Committee to the Dartford Local Plan Review Main Issues Discussion Paper
1. There is no explicit reference to allotments in the Discussion Paper, but the Committee wishes to note certain implications of the Discussion Paper for allotment provision and allotment site management, in the context of the Local Agenda 21 process in Dartford (QED), in which local Allotment Associations are active participants.
2. Within the current Dartford Local Plan, allotments are covered by policy CF12, which regulates the conversion of allotment land to other uses (1). This policy is in accordance with the relevant Allotment Acts, and in the view of the Committee should pass through the review process unchanged, along with paragraph 13.3.17, which qualifies the policy (2).
3. With respect to the other paragraph which qualifies CF12, paragraph 13.3.16 (3), the Committee notes the major expansion in housing provision proposed for the east of the Borough, much of which will be at high densities with limited private garden provision, which suggests that there may be a quantitative need for additional provision of allotment gardens in that area, given continuing demand pressures on the Gore Road site and the popularity of the existing sites provided by local town and parish councils. Such provision would conform with the aim to promote a sustainable form of development (including leisure and open space) on each of the major development sites (4).
4. The Council's policy on allotment site management is set out in Section 16 of the Leisure Strategy for the Borough of Dartford (5). The Committee notes the statement in the Discussion Paper that "the Local Plan Review must provide the basis for a leisure strategy commensurate with the scale of development likely in Kent Thames-side" (6). The paragraph which follows this statement recognises the existing Leisure Strategy for the Borough of Dartford, and in the view of the Committee Section 16 of the Leisure Strategy for the Borough of Dartford should be incorporated into any leisure strategy based upon the Local Plan Review.
5. The Council's policy on allotment sites stresses the benefits of local control of community facilities. This policy has created an important and successful pool of expertise in site management, which has been fed into the Local Agenda 21 process. The Committee notes several references to problems of managing community facilities (particularly those incorporating landscape elements) in the Discussion Paper (7), and would suggest that QED could make an important contribution to the design and management of these facilities to promote sustainability objectives, not least by ensuring provision for the local recycling of compostable wastes.
6. The Committee notes several references to the preservation of the visual amenity of the Green Belt (8), and looks to QED to facilitate appropriate landscaping of allotment sites both in the Green Belt and in other areas where allotments perform a valued open space function. The Committee also notes the proposal for a Borough open space strategy, and would welcome an opportunity to contribute to the formulation of that strategy through QED, particularly in respect of areas with minimal garden space provision (9).
UPDATE: The Deposit Draft of the Local Plan was published in March 2000. See: Response of the QED Allotments Group to the Dartford Borough Local Plan Review Deposit Draft.
(1) CF12: "Proposals for development resulting in the loss of allotment land not otherwise identified for development in this Plan will not be permitted unless the proposals either: establish an absence of need for the existing facilities, or make provision for its replacement or the relocation of occupied plots."
(2) 13.3.17: "The Council will retain allotment plots wherever they serve a local need. In situations where the need has declined, proposals for alternative uses will be considered provided that there is no longer any local need, or that alternative suitable sites can be provided in the locality."
(3) 13.3.16: "Most of the allotment sites in the Borough are provided by the Borough and Parish Councils. The level of usage varies considerably from site to site, but overall there is no quantitative need for additional provision."
(4) See Discussion Paper, p. 10, para. 3.13
(5) "The Council will:
Encourage local associations to accept agreements for allotment sites wherever appropriate, in order to further utilise the benefits of local control of these facilities.
Promote the advantages of allotment gardening as a leisure activity whenever it considers it to be appropriate.
Seek to secure resources for continuing improvements to allotment facilities in the Borough where possible."
(6) Discussion Paper, p. 58, para. 3.2
(7) ibid., regarding playgrounds (p. 59, para. 6.1), landscaped areas (p. 66, para. 5.3), crime prevention (p. 67, para. 9.2) and woodlands (p. 73, para. 4.2)ibid., regarding playgrounds (p. 59, para. 6.1), landscaped areas (p. 66, para. 5.3), crime prevention (p. 67, para. 9.2) and woodlands (p. 73, para. 4.2)ibid., regarding playgrounds (p. 59, para. 6.1), landscaped areas (p. 66, para. 5.3), crime prevention (p. 67, para. 9.2) and woodlands (p. 73, para. 4.2)
(8) ibid., p. 59, paras. 9.4 and 9.5, and p. 70, para. 2.3
(9) ibid., p. 59, paras. 6.2 and 6.3