Starkholmes Allotments users issued eviction notices

An eviction notice has been put up on fencing erected around the allotment to prevent access

Allotment users have been evicted from a site they have been using for more than 100 years.

All 36 tenants of plots at Starkholmes Allotments, on the outskirts of Matlock, Derbyshire, have been served notice by their landlord.

The notice said the site had been "forfeited by its landlord and freeholder Brian Edward Newton who has now taken possession".

Mr Newton has been approached for comment.

The land on the outskirts of Matlock has hosted an allotment for more than a century

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said allotment holders had previously been given until 29 September to leave the site.

Fencing has now been put up around the whole perimeter to prevent access.

However, villagers are working with local authorities to try to keep the site as an allotment.

A number of legal proceedings are currently pending, with Derbyshire Dales District Council fighting an appeal from Mr Newton against its designation of the plot as a formal "asset of community value".

The district council is also helping Matlock Town Council in its aim to compulsorily buy or hire the site from Mr Newton by force.

Thousands of pounds of taxpayer cash and fundraised money have already been gathered and spent to fight the ongoing battles.

Several legal proceedings are ongoing to try to keep the site as an allotment

A representative of the Starkholmes Allotment Management Committee said: "Our rent was paid for the six months to March 24 2023 on September 27, in accordance with the terms of our lease, but the money was returned to our bank account by the landlord's agent on October 7.

"In a letter handed to us yesterday [Tuesday], Mr Newton's solicitors said he was ending our lease because we had not paid the rent.

"This is such a bizarre situation we find ourselves in, it's almost Kafkaesque."

Matlock mayor Paul Cruise said he would continue to support the allotment holders "to protect and retain this wonderful community asset".

A district council spokesperson said: "Derbyshire Dales District Council continues to support Starkholmes Allotment Association through defending an appeal against the listing of the site as an asset of community value (ACV) and by pursuing compulsory purchase/hire action."

The authority added an ACV appeal hearing was due to be held on 10 January.