As National Allotments Week kicks off today, the National Trust is on target to surpass the pledge it made in February this year to create 1,000 new allotment plots on its land by 2012, providing local communities across the country with the space to grow their own fruit and vegetables.
Each of the new growing spaces are being created on communities’ doorsteps throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland and where possible are being registered through the Landshare website, www.landshare.net, set up by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - an online match-making database of keen growers and those who have land available.
Jenny Sansom, the National Trust’s local food champion, said: “We have had a tremendous response from people to this initiative. We now have a total of 35 allotment sites up and running, with more than 350 plots. Another 15 sites will be ready by next spring.
“Allotments offer the opportunity to bring whole communities together to share skills, knowledge and enjoy gardening. Some people are learning to grow for the first time, others are sharing their expertise and everyone is linked by a common desire to grow their own food and the satisfaction of eating the rewards of their labour.”
Rob Love from Landshare said: “We are thrilled with the response we have had to Landshare and are excited about the addition of 1,000 National Trust plots to the campaign. We have now included a map on the website which shows the inspirational number of matches across the country to date. Hugh’s next autumn series for C4 continues to chart the success and encourage more to join.”
The National Trust will also be providing additional funds this autumn to help boost the number of allotment sites available on its land and these new sites will all be registered through the Landshare website.
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