Diamond standard allotments will add sparkle for Maidenhead growers - Ebay auction to find tenants

Green-fingered Maidenhead residents keen to get involved in allotment gardening will have more opportunities to fulfil their dream, thanks to a Royal Borough initiative that will create new plots at Ray Mill Road West.

The scheme will also allow the council to create much-needed public open space in this area of high density housing, with a more attractive link to the Green Way.

The 14 allotments - on a 1.4 hectare council-owned grazing site - will be created to diamond (grade A) standard. Each will have an integral shed, small greenhouse and a water tank (shared between two plots) and the ground will be fully prepared so new tenants can get growing as soon as they move in.

All the allotments will be auctioned on Ebay (to borough residents only) with a reserve price of £300 a year for each of the 12 which will be 150m2 and £150 for each of the remaining two of 75m2. At least 50% of the allotments will be reserved for bidders who are already on the Maidenhead allotment waiting list.

Cllr Simon Dudley, Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services, said the project was a positive step towards fulfilling a manifesto pledge to provide new allotments across the borough.

He said: "As more and more people develop an interest in growing their own fruit and vegetables we are exploring many different ways of providing additional allotments to meet the increasing need. We already have a long waiting list in Maidenhead so at least 50% of the new allotments will be allocated to people on that list.

"We believe that the new plots will be very popular and, because they are quite big, perhaps a number of residents might club together and share one. We hope this is just the first of a number of similar initiatives in other parts of the borough."

The scheme, subject to planning permission, is being proposed to Cabinet which meets on Thursday 28 July. If cabinet approves and planning permission is granted the allotments should be up and running by the planting season next spring.

The council currently provides 940 allotments in Windsor and Maidenhead - 415 of them over eight sites in Maidenhead where there is a waiting list of more than 400 people. In Windsor, where there are fewer than 20 people on the waiting list, the council owns nine sites with around 525 allotments which are leased to Windsor Allotment and Home Gardens Association. Some parish councils also operate allotments and there are two private schemes in Windsor.

The new area of public space at Ray Mill Road West will be created with the help of a group of 20 local environmental volunteers from Make Space for Life who have offered to do much of the clearance and maintenance work. They have already been working on a nearby local pond and are keen to expand their work to create a wildlife habitat, plant trees and maintain hedgerows.

Cllr Dudley said: "This is an excellent example of Big Society community involvement. With the help of these enthusiastic local residents the council will be able to provide a welcome area of public space for everyone to enjoy. We thank them for their help and look forward to the opening of the new amenity in the near future."

The public space will also feature new seating, signage, tree and shrub planting, improved and new footpaths, and access improvements (with bollards to keep out vehicles).

Notes:
All the allotments will be auctioned to the highest bidders - 50% on a priority basis to residents on the waiting list and the other 50% to any other residents

How do you rate this information/service?