Newham (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Newham Council has admitted that overgrown allotments in Manor Park are receiving only “minimal maintenance,” sparking concerns among local residents.
Bridle Path Allotments have been permitted to turn into a “wilderness,” according to plot holder Simon Shaw, with empty plots remaining unoccupied.
He informed the Local Democracy Reporting Service that unless the Newham council begins to repair them, he will not be paying his rent.
Simon said:
“They used to do an annual inspection to make sure people were maintaining their allotments. Now a lot are unoccupied and becoming a wilderness.
It is incredible how quickly nature takes over and it becomes almost impossible to clear the growth. The consensus among allotment holders is the council is prepared to let it go.
The council asked for my rent payment, but I said, ‘are you going to continue to maintain?’ I said ‘I’m more than happy to pay, but you seem to be letting the allotments go’.”
Simon said there was a “great tradition in the East End” of keeping allotments, and spoke of their importance in inner-city areas.
He said:
“In Newham there’s a lot of high rise buildings and housing without access to gardens.”
Additionally, Simon proposed using the location as a “community garden for refugees.”
The authority is now performing “minimal maintenance” on Bridal Path Allotments, according to a council spokesperson.
They claimed that this was because the location was difficult to get to and lacked amenities that other places had.
The council spokesman also mentioned that new plots in other locations, like Reynolds Avenue, which is nearby, had been provided to residents.
According to them, only seven of the 20 allotments at Bridle Path are being used.
They said:
“The site itself has very restricted access and there is a lack of other vital amenities like water and electricity.
This means the site is difficult to maintain and it does not come up to the standard of our other allotments. We are undertaking minimal maintenance works on the site.”
The spokesperson added the authority inspects plots annually and has invited tenants to relocate to alternative sites.
“If any remaining plot holders decide they want to take up this offer of a new allotment we would be delighted to hear from them.”
According to the council’s website, “due to very high demand,” the waiting list for allotments is now closed.
According to the website, plots are being offered to applicants from the 2016–17 fiscal year, which was nearly ten years ago.
Which department of the council is responsible for Manor Park allotments?
The Manor Park allotments in Newham are run by the Council’s Community Parks and Leisure department, which oversees Council allotment services, including maintenance, allocation, and community engagement with open space.
For allotment related information and services, plot holders should refer to the Community Parks and Leisure webpages of Newham Council, which include information related to allotments policy, application and site maintenance.
Manor Park allotments, Newham are managed by Newham Council’s Community Parks and Leisure department, which manages allotments services including maintenance, assignment of plots, and community involvement with these green spaces.