Allotments meeting report

The DAHLIA allotment meeting last night in the Scout & Guide Hall heard a fascinating talk by the North West representative of the National Society of Allotment & Leisure Gardeners, Dave Morris.

Dave, who lives on the Wirral and is actively involved in a large allotment site there, is a volunteer who talks to groups across the North West. He described how best to go about organising an allotment society; how to attract funding and Council support and, crucially, the best ways to acquire suitable land. He also brought lots of useful literature on allotments.

He explained how there has been an amazing turnabout in interest with over 100,000 people now wanting plots in addition to roughly the same number already growing fresh produce in allotments across the country.

Dave described how his local group had expanded dramatically from around thirty plot holders to over 250 now on a twenty acre site that was, some years ago, very run down. Now, it is a thriving community.

He took questions from the audience and heard how 64 people in Audlem and area have already expressed interest in having an allotment if the land can be found near the village. He said that most people will be best served by a 'half plot' as a full plot of 25m x 10m is a major undertaking.

Before his talk, Christine Johnson and Ruth Kemble, organisers of the new Audlem group seeking to establish allotments in the village, described progress in discussions with local land owners.

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