Hilary Benn’s support for community food growing has been welcomed by Harvest Brighton and Hove.
The southern city has been chosen as one of the pilot areas for exploring the feasibility of developing ‘landbanks’ as a means of increasing access to land for communities to produce more food.
Brighton and Hove is working to increase growing opportunities for food growing in urban settings.
Through the Harvest project, work has begun to identify land, in both public and private ownership, for growing food in spaces on housing estates and other public spaces and working with Brighton and Hove City Council, more than 80 new allotments have been created this winter.
The first ‘meanwhile’ lease is about to be signed between the council’s housing department and a residents' community group. More will follow on both public and private land within the city.
Vic Else, director of the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, said: ‘Support for growing food, particularly in our cities, is to be welcomed. Even in a densely populated city such as Brighton and Hove there are pockets of land that can be used for producing food. This is not only beneficial for the health and wellbeing of community members, but can help reduce food miles and contribute to the future food supply of our city.”
