Brief for the Local Government Association on "Allotments in Local Agenda 21"

Allotments in Local Agenda 21 A Brief Prepared for the Local Government Association's Working Group on a Best Practice Regime for Allotments Richard Wiltshire QED Allotments Group Dartford Kent December 1998   1. Why Allotments in Local Agenda 21? The idea of including allotment gardening within Local Agenda 21 initiatives has drawn strong support from central government and parliament, from local authorities and their representative organisations, from food issue campaigners and others intimately involved in Local Agenda 21, from allotment societies and from individual allotment gardeners. The Government's response to "The Future for Allotments" report contains a specific endorsement for allotment participation in Local Agenda 21 (1), as recommended in the Inquiry Report (2), and in her oral evidence to the Parliamentary Inquiry the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment repeatedly stressed the importance of the Local Agenda 21 process as the principle means to promote the benefits of allotment gardening to local communities (3), a sentiment echoed in a recent Early Day Motion which has attracted cross-party support (4). The value of encouraging allotment gardening within Local Agenda 21 strategies was recognised in the Local Government Association's written submission to the Inquiry, in the context of "promoting healthy activity among all members of the community"(5), and the Local Government Management Board has included "a commitment to the importance of allotments in its core strategy on [Local] Agenda 21"(6). In oral evidence to the Inquiry, Mr Mike Branaghan of Bristol City Council, a leading local authority in this field, emphasised the importance of Local Agenda 21 as a framework within which to change the allotment image and open up the possibilities for new partnerships with professional groups outside allotment gardening, such as teachers, health visitors and economic development units (7). Written evidence submitted to the Inquiry by the NFA/SAFE Alliance's CityHarvest Project (8), the Soil Association's Local Food Links Project (9) and other organisations describe in considerable detail the many benefits of allotment gardening activities, virtually all of which may be considered appropriate for inclusion within Local Agenda 21 initiatives. These submissions form the basis for Appendix 1 to this brief, and most of the activities listed in Appendix 1 already take place on allotments sites somewhere - or anywhere. This proves two points. First, allotments already make a substantial contribution to local sustainability, whether that contribution is badged under Local Agenda 21 or not (10), so the returns to Local Agenda 21 initiatives from the investment of time and effort involved in helping to create an interest in Local Agenda 21 amongst allotment gardeners, in terms of skills, community links and incremental enhancement of existing activities, can be considerable (11). And second, the entry costs for allotment gardeners for effective participation in Local Agenda 21 are very low, requiring little additional effort, though sometimes a major change in perspective and self-belief. The Inquiry also received submissions from allotment organisations (12) and individual allotment gardeners (13) which made explicit reference to Local Agenda 21, and others expressing a more general support for the inclusion of allotments in sustainable development strategies on the basis of the positive contribution they can and already do make (14). The advantages to local authorities of including allotments within Local Agenda 21 initiatives may be summarised as follows: A means to promote and encourage the more effective use of allotments sites, through partnerships with allotment societies, allotment holders and other groups A means to invigorate Local Agenda 21 initiatives at comparatively low cost And the advantages to allotment societies and allotment gardeners: A means to broaden community support for allotments, including encouragement for more people to take up allotment gardening A means to access resources (especially materials, expertise and information) that would not otherwise be available to enhance the infrastructure of allotment sites A means to appreciate (and be appreciated for) the value of every gardener's contribution to the creation of a better quality of life for all, now and in the future 2. The Nature of Best Practice for Allotments In her comments to the Inquiry the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment repeatedly stressed the very local nature of many issues relating to allotments. In its Report, the Committee noted how it had been "made aware of the great disparities with regard to allotment practices at local level"(15). While it is the self-evident function of a "best practice" regime to encourage poor performers amongst local authorities - and allotment societies - to raise their standards, and the Report makes a variety of specific and welcome recommendations regarding acceptable minima and practical methods (16), it is also reasonable to assume that part of the disparity in practices at the local level reflects genuine and defensible differences between local authorities in the priority accorded to allotments versus other claims to attention, genuine differences between and within local authority areas in the enthusiasm of the public - and of allotment gardeners - for the use, promotion and upgrading of sites, and genuine differences in the challenges and opportunities that each site presents. Not all of the activities listed in Appendix 1 will be achievable on every site, so some variation in the prescription for "best practice" with respect to these activities would be inevitable, inside or outside the Local Agenda 21 context. Local Agenda 21 adds a further complication, however, in that "top down" prescription runs counter to the objective of a programme for local sustainability designed from the "bottom up" to reflect the distinctive and variable aspirations of each community. Local Agenda 21s are negotiated agendas, not prescribed agendas. Best practice, therefore, must be defined not with regard to outcomes, but with regard to processes. The definition of best practice requires answers to such questions as these: Has the local authority sought to enter into a genuine dialogue with its allotment societies, allotment holders and other interested parties to negotiate an agreed plan of action for the inclusion of allotments in Local Agenda 21? Has the local authority provided adequate access to information to its allotment societies, allotment holders and other interested parties regarding the opportunities which the inclusion of allotments in Local Agenda 21 presents? Has the local authority done enough to support and develop the capacity of allotment communities to enter into the partnership arrangements which Local Agenda 21 requires? The last of these questions points to a further complication: best practice in Local Agenda 21 cannot be divorced from best practice in other aspects of allotment management, and particularly in the promotion of schemes for delegated management and self-management and for community development, which are the subjects of other briefs (17). To give a specific example from close to home: the formation of the QED Allotments Group arose from the initiative of allotment societies which had already been empowered to take effective action for the promotion of their sites by the local authority's policy to encourage self-management, but the activities of the Group in partnership with the local authority have further enhanced the ability of each participating society to act effectively in the interests of its members and the local community. Empowerment to participate has generated empowerment through participation. Local authorities may initiate the process, but they cannot be held solely responsible for the result. Best practice is not the same as best outcome. Furthermore, the local authority is not the only source of information, or the only source of support, for allotment societies and allotment gardeners. There is an integral and valuable role for representative bodies and specialist agencies in the achievement of best practice for allotments in Local Agenda 21, for the benefit of local authorities, allotment gardeners, and local communities alike. 3. Best Practice for Allotments in Local Agenda 21 A focus on the three questions raised in the previous section, on dialogue, information and capacity, will help us to define the substance of a regime of best practice for allotments in Local Agenda 21, and how to achieve it. Dialogue requires at least two parties, an act of initiation, commitments to talk, a language to converse in, information to discuss, and the capacity to speak. On the local authority side, the responsibility for dialogue should be shared between the allotments officer (if any) and the Local Agenda 21 coordinator, and it falls to the local authority to ensure that effective communication occurs between these two officers, particularly if they reside in different departments. Another (but not necessarily the only other) party to the dialogue should be the allotment gardeners, speaking individually or through representative bodies such as allotment societies. Responsibility for initiating a dialogue on participation in Local Agenda 21 rests with the local authority, but the local authority should also be open to approaches from other parties, particularly when its own attempts at initiation have not proved successful. Commitment by the local authority may be difficult to sustain against a background of alternative priorities and past difficulties in relations with allotment holders. It is a fortunate local authority that has managed to maintain cordial relations with its allotment holders despite the tensions inherent in the landlord - tenant relationship, and the evidence presented to the Inquiry demonstrates the alienation and animosity that can arise when this relationship breaks down. Fortunately, professionalism demands that a genuine effort be made by council officers to engage in the Local Agenda 21 process. Less fortunately (though understandably), the ethics of professionalism do not necessarily apply to allotment holders and allotment societies. Once alienated, allotment gardeners may require much convincing before they are willing to cooperate again, and the local authority may not be the party best placed to mend fences. There is a role for representative bodies (for example, the NSALG) and specialist agencies to play here in encouraging allotment gardeners to think beyond past and current travails and bitterness and to consider the benefits that a dialogue, however tense and unwelcome, may eventually bring. Conversely, many gardeners and societies may feel content with their lot, or resigned to it, and see no point in dialogue. This attitude, sometimes unkindly described as "apathy" (as if contentment was not a desirable state of mind), is often said to bedevil the allotments movement, and it is not easy to see how, or necessarily why, the local authority should seek to change the status quo. Best practice requires, however, that some effort still be made to enter into a dialogue on allotments with the local community, to ensure that the external appearance of apathy does not disguise the suppression of genuine interest and acts of social exclusion, on or off the allotment site. Allotment gardeners talk the inclusive language of allotments, a language of nature, plants, renewal and decay, which can be understood by all gardeners whatever their background. Other languages may be less effective as media of communication: the language of this brief is a case in point! Local Agenda 21 initiatives can be long on jargon ("sustainability", "indices", "empowerment"), and this needs to be translated, either by local authority officers involved in Local Agenda 21, or by intermediaries such as society secretaries. When it comes to learning effective language for communicating with allotment holders, time spent simply talking to people on allotment sites will not be wasted. Information is essential to developing the full potential of allotment sites within Local Agenda 21. All parties should have access to the best possible information on the many ways in which allotments and Local Agenda 21 can work together. Appendix 1 defines the main categories and some of the detail, and individual submissions to the Inquiry can be mined for specific examples of most of the items mentioned. The problem, however, is to make such information accessible, accurate, up-to-date and relevant to new and locally-specific circumstances. This is a task which local authorities cannot undertake alone and unaided, and again, there is a role for representative bodies (of allotment gardeners and local authorities) and specialist agencies to play here. There is an urgent need for a database facility to support all parties with an interest in the participation of allotments in Local Agenda 21, a database which records the specific details of individual projects, the outcomes (good and not so good), persons to contact for more information, and details of support agencies - people who can help the reader make sense of the information obtained - and potential funders. An excellent model already exists in the case studies presented in Growing Food in Cities (18), and this model should now be taken further. A working party should be set up to examine this issue, with (as a minimum) the following terms of reference: To define the content and structure of a database accessible electronically and in printed form at minimum and equal cost to all users, to record case studies of projects and activities which are either explicitly or implicitly related to Local Agenda 21 and which do, or could, take place on allotment sites; to identify appropriate means to collect and update the data contained therein; to identify a suitable location for the database and to seek and secure any funding required to establish and maintain the database and disseminate its contents. These terms of reference may be expanded in the light of additional data requirement identified by other briefs. The composition of the working party should include (as a minimum) the following: A person nominated by the Local Government Association (representing the interests of allotment authorities) A person nominated by the Local Government Management Board (to advise on compatibility with Local Agenda 21) A person nominated by the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (representing the interests of allotment holders) A person nominated by the National Federation of City Farms (representing the interests of community gardeners, who are also likely to be users of the database and important contributors of data) A representative of the press (to ensure that the information is available in a form suitable for dissemination through the media) A representative of the major food issue campaign groups (to ensure that appropriate links are made in the database with wider food issues) A person competent in the design of databases and websites (to be solicited from the Kitchen Gardens e-mail group, where allotment gardeners with these abilities reside) Data from the English Allotments Survey and from the various submissions to the Inquiry may be suitable sources for initial data, and both the LGMB's new Local Agenda 21 website and the proposed NSALG website may be suitable locations for the database and/or appeals for data. The database should generate additional interest and membership for support agencies, which will be an additional incentive for active participation. Once this facility has been established, best practice for local authorities would be measured by the extent to which it is used, and by the steps taken to enable access to the database for other partners, actual or potential, in Local Agenda 21 initiatives, including allotment societies and individual allotment gardeners. The Capacity of allotment societies and allotment gardeners to enter partnerships within Local Agenda 21 initiatives can to some extent be fostered by local authorities through, for example, active promotion of schemes for self management and support for community development initiatives (both the subject of separate briefs), and subsidies to society members for attendance at conferences, seminars and other events where experience in Local Agenda 21 can be gained, for visits by guest speakers at society meetings, etc. This is clearly an area however in which support is most appropriately provided from within the allotments movement, which has an active role to play in organising seminars, visits, and training in the skills required, and specialist advice in areas such as insurance and legal liabilities. As regards defining best practice for local authorities, however, there is little to add under this head to any recommendations that may flow from the briefs on self management and community development. And finally, a note about allotment land which proves to be surplus to current demand, despite full implementation of the best practice regime advocated here. Land of this nature represents a genuine opportunity for the development of other uses compatible with Local Agenda 21, such as wildflower meadows and community orchards, which either complement allotment gardening or preserve the option of an eventual reversion to allotment use. As far as possible, these alternatives should be given preference. Footnotes (1) The Government's Response to the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee's Report on The Future for Allotments. London: The Stationery Office, Cm 4052, September 1998, p. 4 (2) The Future for Allotments: Fifth Report of the House of Commons Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee. Volume I. London: The Stationery Office, HC560-I, June 1998, p. xxii (3) The Future for Allotments: Minutes of Evidence. London, The Stationery Office, HC560-iii, March 1998, pp. 67-75. See especially paras. 211, 213, 215, 237, 244, 245, 246, 254 and 261 (4) House of Commons Early Day Motion Number 1598: "Allotment Gardening", July 1998 (5) Memorandum by the Local Government Association (AL 34). The Future for Allotments: Minutes of Evidence. London: The Stationery Office, HC560-ii, February 1998, pp. 31-32 (6) Supplementary Memorandum by Professor David Crouch (AL 17 (a)). The Future for Allotments: Minutes of Evidence. London: The Stationery Office, HC560-i, February 1998, p. 20 (7) The Future for Allotments: Minutes of Evidence. London: The Stationery Office, HC560-ii, February 1998, p. 34 (8) Memorandum by the CityHarvest Project (AL 30). The Future for Allotments: Fifth Report of the House of Commons Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee. Volume II. London: The Stationery Office, HC560-II, June 1998, pp. 15-18 (9) Memorandum by the Local Food Links Project (AL 32). The Future for Allotments: Fifth Report of the House of Commons Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee. Volume II. London: The Stationery Office, HC560-II, June 1998, pp. 18-21 (10) "It is difficult to find a topic to open an Alphabet of Sustainability with more credentials for the task than allotments". Quoted from "A for Allotments" in LA 21 Sustain (London: Chartered Institute of Environmental Health), Volume 1, Issue 1, July 1998, p. 16. See also Martin Stott, "Allotments: Sustainability in Action". Alternative Health International, Volume 1, Number 2, October 1998, pp. 20-24 (11) For evidence, see the First and Second Annual Reports of the QED Allotments Group in QED Allotments Newsletter, Issue 2, September 1997 and Issue 4, September 1998 (available from the QED Website at http://www.btinternet.com/~richard.wiltshire/allot1.htm) (12) Memorandum by South East Regional Allotments Committee (AL 27). The Future for Allotments: Minutes of Evidence. London: The Stationery Office, HC560-ii, February 1998, pp. 42-48 (13) Memorandum by Martin Stott (AL 18). The Future for Allotments: Minutes of Evidence. London: The Stationery Office, HC560-ii, February 1998, pp. 40-42 (14) Memorandum by the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Ltd (AL 22). The Future for Allotments: Minutes of Evidence. London: The Stationery Office, HC560-i, February 1998, pp. 2-8 (15) The Future for Allotments: Fifth Report of the House of Commons Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee. Volume I. London: The Stationery Office, HC560-I, June 1998, p. xxix (16) ibid., pp. xxix-xxxiii (17) While this brief and others are confined to the management of publicly-owned allotment sites, many of the public benefits of allotments, such as the maintenance of green open space, are derived from private sites as well. Local authorities should therefore welcome and encourage the participation of plotholders from private sites in Local Agenda 21 initiatives. (18) Tara Garnett, Growing Food in Cities. London: NFA/Safe Alliance, 1996   Appendix 1: Opportunities for Allotments in Local Agenda 21 1. Environmental improvements A. Managing waste i Recycling organic waste, eg. composting (on-site sourced), composting (off-site sourced), non-standard pallets, wood chips ii Recycling inorganic waste, eg. used tyres, windows, light diffusers, carpets, plastic sheeting B. Reducing transport i Food, eg. own consumption, plus links to local food economies, farmers markets, etc. ii Waste, eg. local recycling of wastes listed in 1.A above C. Promoting biodiversity i. Vegetables, eg, through HDRA 'Seed Heritage' scheme ii. Fruits iii. "Weeds" and wild plants, eg. in uncultivable areas iv. Beekeeping v. Wildlife (birds, mammals and insects), eg. hedgerows, fallow, bird and bat boxes, ponds, and other habitat creation D. Environmentally sensitive management and cultivation practices i. Litter and rubbish reduction and removal, eg. through participation in Tidy Britain campaigns ii. Tidy structures, eg. standard plans for sheds iii. Smoke reduction through bonfire controls iv. Encouragement to use less herbicide/pesticide v. Encouragement of organic methods vi. Encouragement of permaculture vii. Water conservation, eg. rainwater collection and mulching 2. Health A. Improving diet i. Access to fresh food for people on low incomes ii. Healthier eating patterns for all iii. Encouragement for organic food production B. Encouraging physical activity i. Exercise for the elderly (allotments on prescription!) ii. Exercise for parents with children, facilitated by play areas iii. Exercise for people with physical disability, facilitated by special layouts with raised beds and improved parking C. Promoting mental health, through horticultural therapy, productive activity, and contact with non-sufferers, including special provision for refugees 3. Economic development A. Green jobs, eg. in food sales, allotment shops, food processing, composting B. Contributing to the informal economy i. Informal exchange of foods ii. Gifts of foods, eg. to luncheon clubs and food co-ops iii. Participation in LETS schemes and organic "box schemes" iv. Informal exchange of job information and training in growing and craft skills v. "Grow-your-own" campaigns, eg. HDRA 4. Community Development (see separate brief) A. Building the community B. Combating crime 5. Education A. Formal learning for school and university students B. Informal learning for families and visitors 6. Sustainable urban and regional planning A. Providing "green lungs" and "green corridors" i. Accessible to plotholders of all abilities ii. Accessible to the public on open days or during open hours B. Making productive use of derelict or temporarily vacant land C. Provision to keep pace with new development D. Effective contribution to local, regional and national sustainability debates ______________________ [Sources: Various Memoranda submitted as evidence to "The Future of Allotments" Inquiry]

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