Plan for Abbots Leigh allotments prompt 200 objections

Roots Allotments has two sites in Somerset, near Newbridge Park and Ride, and in Bathford

A company hoping to create 700 allotments in a village has insisted that there are no plans to hold festivals or outdoor yoga on the site.

Roots Allotments is seeking permission to set-up the site in Abbots Leigh, near the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

But the plans have attracted more than 200 objections, with residents raising concerns over parking and traffic.

North Somerset Council deferred the application in July for more details. The plans will be decided on 16 August.

Roots has two other sites, one near Bath's Newbridge Park and Ride, and another just outside Bathford.

Andrew Ross, planning consultant for Roots, said although festivals and outdoor yoga sessions which take place at the other two sites are "not currently planned" for Abbots Leigh, organising such events would be within the development rules.

He said: "A core part of the support that is provided to plot holders is the provision of educational and instructional talks and workshops which directly relate to the process of growing at the site and are very clearly an ancillary aspect of the use of the site for allotments.

"These activities could be found on many "conventional" allotments sites around the county without triggering any material change of use in the land."

The company has applied for a certificate of lawful development, stating that the plans were only for a change in agricultural use, rather than typical planning permission.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, councillor Christopher Blades branded this move "sneaky," as officers warned that there was nothing in the application which gave them grounds to reject it.

Three quarters of the plots at Abbots Leigh have already been rented.