Seeds of a growing passion bear fruit

Allotment holder Richard Crawford takes a well-earned rest after working on his plot.

WITH more than two years of hard graft and the commitment and dedication of a green-fingered group, Hawthorn Allotments has finally sprouted into life. It heralded the first working allotment site set up on council-owned land in Inverness in decades, and proved that by working together and with a little patience and perseverance, people can make a difference.

Interest in allotments has grown with more people wanting to grow their own produce and follow a more sustainable lifestyle.

Scottish law gives local councils an obligation to provide allotments for residents who express an interest. Highland Council has been keen to promote them and bring their many benefits.

But it has taken some very careful nurturing to get the first city allotment site at Dalneigh to fruition.

In September 2008 Tearlach Quinnell, who had been on the council’s allotment waiting list for more than three years, decided to take matters into his own hands. He called a meeting at the Spectrum Centre in Inverness for people interested in setting up allotments.

A committee for Allotments for Inverness — Comann nan lios — was formed and, together with a group of determined fellow gardeners, Mr Quinnell began laying the groundwork for the pioneering project.

"Post-war, most council developments included their own allotment areas and Dalneigh was no exception," said George MacWilliam, now chairman of the Allotments Association. "The land between the canal and Hawthorn Drive was identified as a possible site as it was part of a former allotments site. But before our group could formalise any agreement with Highland Council to reinstate allotments on what had become public open space, the council had to create an allotment policy."

He explained that the local authority then began a consultation process inviting views from across the region, with the aim of enabling local groups to manage their own allotment sites.

"Our committee contributed, working closely with Highland Council policy officer for health improvement Keith Walker and local councillors to help establish the council’s process of provision and management of allotments," said Mr MacWilliam.

When the allotment policy was approved in December 2009 the group began to look at taking on the site. "In January 2010 we applied for planning permission and started negotiating our lease, but this took a while to come through as there was no existing standard for leasing land from Highland Council for this purpose," said Mr MacWilliam.

"It was a frustrating time. The project was in limbo as we couldn’t instruct engineers to draw plans for the site, sort out the water supply connection or organise the car parking until the lease was formalised.

"In the meantime, our committee held a drop-in session where local people could express support and concerns about the potential site. We were careful to try to involve everyone. We didn’t want the community to feel we had parachuted in and were taking over their area."

Mr MacWilliam said the committee worked closely with the council’s area manager Jimmy Flint, the local community council and Dalneigh residents, and almost everyone was supported the scheme.

Committee members Cath McIver and Andy Doran put together a grant application from the Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) to pay for the site set-up costs. "They showed that by allowing locals to grown their own food and reduce food miles, our project could reduce the community’s carbon footprint," said Mr MacWilliam.

"In March 2010 we were delighted to receive £50,000 from the CCF but we couldn’t do anything with it until our lease was in place."

The lease was approved later the same year and the group got the go-ahead, marking the first shoots of project. But it still had its work cut out and a long, hard winter ahead with heavy snow that slowed progress on the site.

"Part of the agreement with the council was that we had to put fencing in place around the site," said Mr MacWilliam. "It was important to us that it should look nice and not just provide security. So we opted for good quality rigid green fencing that blends into the background. It’s a big site, extending to about two acres, and fencing used up 60 per cent of the CCF funding.

"Then we had to think about water. Every plot with a shed will have a water butt to collect rainwater from the roof, but we needed a standpipe too. Scottish Water kindly helped us find the water pipe and we had the standpipe installed."

Trees also needed pruned but the group made the conscious decision that no decent-sized trees should be removed from site because they were seen as part of the local biosystem, supporting birdlife.

"It has been over 20 years since the allotment site at Hawthorn Drive was worked and parts were full of weeds and briars," Mr MacWilliam went on.

"We had a couple of work parties to tackle the worst of it but it would have taken us months to dig it all over. Luckily we found someone to plough the site in early April and he did a great job. Before he was finished people were already on their plots preparing for planting."

Within two weeks sheds were up, compost bins were in place, people had planted apple trees and started sowing their carrots, cauliflowers and cabbages.

Eventually there will be 60 plots with four suitable for the disabled. Plots have been allocated to people from the council waiting list, from members of the allotment group’s own list and to interested individuals living in that part of the central ward area.

As well as plots for individuals, a number of plots are being used by community groups, including the Corbett Centre and Dalneigh Primary School. Around a third of the plots are now being worked by people resident in Dalneigh and the surrounding area.

"We knew we had enough to fill all the available plots and already we have a healthy waiting list," said Mr MacWilliam. "It’s a wonderful mix of people and there’s a real community spirit developing here. I came to plant my tatties and loved wandering around chatting with others and seeing what they were doing."

Sue Henderson, a member of the Hawthorn Allotments committee, agrees. "People are really enthusiastic and it is great to see all the different ideas in each garden," she said. "Everyone has their own ideas about how to tackle their plots — some have gone for functional layouts, others have concentrated on design.

"The allotment has brought a whole new dimension to my life. I find I am making more time in my day to come down here as I am enjoying it so much. I do like the idea of growing my own fruit and veg because I know exactly where it has come from. And I have also made so many new friends who I would otherwise never have met."

But committee members are by no means ready to retire to their potting sheds just yet. "The next stage is to apply for funding from various sources to help us create raised beds and finish our disabled plots," said Mr MacWilliam.

"We would also like to create a community building at the entrance where we can hold talks and events and install composting toilets. And we would also love to see people moving onto allotments in other parts of

the city."