Allotment holders urge council to negotiate lease

The council received a six thousand signature petition, urging them to contest the termination of the lease

Allotment holders on the outskirts of Bath say it will be "an absolute disaster for the community" if the site owner goes ahead with his threat to terminate the lease.

The Combe Down Allotment opened in 1894, but the current landowner has given notice to Bath & North East Somerset Council (BANES) of his intention to end the long-term lease in 2025.

Campaigners want BANES to consider enforcing a compulsory purchase order, and for the allotments to become an Asset of Community Value which would allow them to buy the site if it was put up for sale.

The council said the owner had not followed up or engaged with them since giving his notice to end the lease. The BBC has contacted the owner who declined to comment.

Chris Pearce first got his plot at the allotment in 1978

The Combe Down allotment site has 64 plots currently leased by the council, and has the potential for 22 further plots and a five-year waiting list of 44 people.

Gardener Chris Pearce has had a plot at the site for 45 years, and said the allotments were "a magical place".

"The joy of growing your own produce and bringing it to the dinner plate is a joy that cannot be replaced by just going to the supermarket," he said.

"These allotments are not only growing food for us humans but they're also the habitat and food source for our local wildlife.

"We're hoping the council will succumb and earmark this land as an open green space. That won't necessarily protect the allotments, but it will give us open space for wildlife to enjoy in the future."

Bernadette Knight said she worries the site could be sold as a plot for housing developments

Echoing his sentiments is fellow plot holder, Bernadette Knight, who said the loss of the site would be felt by many.

"This is not just about a group of old codgers growing a few carrots," she said.

"The schools are here regularly, the local dementia centre comes to visit, surplus produce goes to Crop Drop, who take it to a local special needs school.

"There are multi-layered elements to this. There's a huge history here, social cohesion, health and wellbeing, climate change, biodiversity.

"There's not many facilities round here, and we're just going to take away a substantial community facility? What for? If they can justify it, then tell us."

The allotment site was originally opened so miners living in the city in 1894 could feed their families

Tim Ball, cabinet member for neighbourhood services, said: “This is a complex legal situation which we are doing our very best to resolve because our goal has always been for allotments to remain on this site, we know how important they are to many people.

"We have requested meetings with the landowner to understand why he intends to serve notice. Unfortunately, all requests to meet have, to date, been declined through his solicitor, alongside a repeat of his intention to serve notice on the council in 2025.”

The BBC has contacted the current owner Richard Lovegrove, descendant of the original landowner, but he declined to comment.