Cambridge City Council has stated that sheds will not be allowed on the new allotment sites in the city’s southern fringe developments (the Growth Sites).
Sheds at the nearby Foster Road allotments.
I asked the council on Thursday why sheds are banned from the new sites, given that they are commonly used on the city’s existing allotments. As any allotment user will know sheds are useful for storing tools, seeds, other items needed to grow food, and to provide shelter during inclement weather.
Cambridge City Council’s allotment rules have been amended to ban sheds on the Growth Sites.
Councillor Blencowe answered that the ‘no-sheds’ rule was a planning decision made in consultation with the landowner and the developers, that the new allotments were in the Clay Farm country park (rather than within the housing development) and therefore were greenbelt, and that the landowner had insisted that they would not like to see sheds on these allotments. He said that this was put forward as part of the planning application and the decision went through on that basis. He added that there was a commitment to a communal facility including kitchen and toilets with storage as well.[1]
The councillor did express an understanding that that this provision would not be sufficient for allotment holders and that he had seen a suggestion of storage chests for tools being added, either on plots or in communal garden areas. According to the councillor, sheds were ‘not banned’, but were ‘not permitted’, because of the initial land transfer agreement and that it was therefore not within the council’s gift to allow them. Planning decisions can be varied over time, so if a strong argument was made maybe this could change. There was not a covenant against sheds. He added that only ‘starter plots’ were to be offered and the hope was to encourage a communal approach.
I also asked when the new plots would be made available. Cllr. Blencowe said that the planning agreement was for handover no later than the one-thousandth occupation[2] (of new homes) on Clay Farm. He repeated that it was an arrangement with the landowner with conditions, that the allotments were in an acceptable location, with hindsight perhaps practical considerations were not thought through. We as managers will now have to grapple with planning conditions as agreed, maybe the situation can be improved, but it may be that the landowner will not give way.
[1] The communal building is planned to be sited on the community garden, not the allotments. It will be 200 m from some allotment plots.
[2] Actually the Section 106 agreement requires handover of the allotments on the five-hundredth occupation, and the community garden (a smaller piece of land 50 m away) on the one-thousandth occupation. However this difference is now irrelevant because these planning thresholds have both long passed, and both facilities are long overdue, but we did not have time to explore this further in the meeting.
Here is the council’s Facebook Live stream of the meeting (the allotments bit starts about 1:01 hours in).
Thanks for challenging this Dave, It is difficult to understand “not banned” but also and at the same time “not permitted”, I guess once there are some allotment holders on site, they will decide if they want to test out the meaning of this and what form that will take. Those of us involved with the Community Garden look forward to their arrival.
Thanks, Dave.
Very helpful to have more detail.
As a resident on ClayFarm on the waiting list for an allotment I’ve emailed David Mali’s to ask to see the draft tenancy agreement.
Meanwhile I will work up some drawings based on helpful suggestions for building ambitious compost heaps!
Thanks for this Dave. It does seem like no one really thought this through during the original planning application.
I also think the suggested tool stores don’t adequately fit the needs of allotment holders – I still think the low level bench type storage boxes for each plot would be a more eye-pleasing and useful solution and would save any disputes over ownership/use of tools that might be stored in a communal store with multiple access.
This would reduce the need to have a huge storage “hangar”. The independent community garden tool store would be small.
However those who will become allotment holders should be those who have the final say – which means no final design and location can be drawn up until allotmnt holders are known individuals. Carol
I have a S H E D which I need to move very soon.
It is 8ft.6ft., with a good pitched roof ,base AND it is F R E E .
The shed is in my garden in TRUMPINGTON, and just needs 12 screws to be undone – and away !
Please contact me a.s.a.p. on 0781 295 0718,
Hello All
Recent contributor to this site.
2 other societies and I, Attended the N.A.S. Eastern Region AGM, held in Cambridge on 19 Jan. Surprised to find that Every county except Cambridgeshire has county representation,
Since we have over 40 allotment sites, it seems a pity we dont have a County Voice? We have funds available from N.A.S. to enable us to arrange a meeting to consider your views on this. Would you be interested in contributing to the discussion, or attending, if we met somewhere central?
Malcolm Frew, – Chair, Girton Allotment Society
Hi All,
@Dave, I’ve only just seen this blog / site, very useful thanks.
I have been on the waiting list for some time now for a plot on the Trumpington Meadows site, hopefully things are moving along now and it won’t be too long before the plots are released.
Clive