by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
A think tank focusing on local government is calling on councils to turn over publicly-owned brownfield sites for allotments.
This group also argues that Government should offer tax incentives to land owners to allow allotments to be established on their unused plots.
The New Local government Network (NLGN) points to social and environmental benefits of allotments, and the fact that in many areas lengthy waiting lists are making it impossible for the public to access these benefits.
The director of the organization, Chris Leslie, told the Bradford paper the “Telegraph and Argus”: “It is well documented that allotments can help to keep people fit, encourage healthy eating, reduce carbon footprints and save money on food bills, so it's a tragedy that more than 100,000 people are waiting to be provided with a plot of land.
“Our reforms would see much more unused and unfunctional brownfield land developed into a much more picturesque landscape of working allotments.”
Allotments are indeed a great community asset and bring people together and keep them healthy and we could also take a leaf out of the book of Community Agriculture as operated in the United States, for instance, where entire local communities get involved in the effort of food growing for all involved.
Entire housing estates have been greened in the USA and also brownfield sites by community groups in the framework of the community agriculture scheme and it seems to really be working and apparently vandalism is virtually unheard off in those cases.
The young hoodlums are actually also involved in the work of those schemes and hence have an interest not to have the gardens trashed.
Now, let's go and do it.
© 2009
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