Rent-free allotment move could revitalise plots

Residents in Bradford could be handed rent-free allotment spaces for one year as part of proposals aimed at reviving overgrown plots.

With 286 plots currently unattended across the district, Bradford Council is considering giving prospective growers a free second 12 months if they restore the offered space.

The proposal is part of a wider shake-up of the district's allotment service, with a petition accusing the cash-strapped local authority of neglecting the green spaces.

While £300,000 had been pledged to restore seven allotment locations, officials said its current policy had "served its purpose" and was "in need of updating".

A report set to be presented to a council panel reveals it costs about £2,500 to bring a single abandoned plot back to "tenantable use" - or £715,000 in total if all overgrown plots were restored.

One allotment officer managed all 29 allotment locations across the district, the report said, covering 1,186 plots.

A partnership with the Probation Service is helping to make "good progress" in clearing two overgrown locations, the council said.

Mollie Somerville, who runs a women's allotment project in Manningham, said: "I'm really pleased the council is taking the petition seriously and has come up with some interesting plans.

"Some sites are in such poor condition they may take years to become fully viable, so people need time to clear the land before they can even begin growing."

Mike Farrell, Yorkshire spokesperson for the National Allotment Society, urged officials to encourage fuller community ownership.

"If the council gives a lease to a committee to run it as indirect let, then that site is eligible for grants," he suggested.

"They can give [communities] the freedom to self-manage."

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