Kitchen Garden Forum

Stoke City Council has around 72 sites but only about 64 are currently in use. 6 sites have been identified as derelict and a 'review' of provision is taking place (we think the other 2 have already disappeared). The word 'rationalisation' has been used but no firm plans have been made public as yet. Stoke has a very active allotments network group. They meet every month and aim to represent all sites including those that are self managed and give us a collective voice. We send copies of minutes to all the site secretaries we have details for (52 sites) but anyone can attend the meetings or receive copies of minutes. Representatives from the council are coming to our next meeting (18th July) to discuss proposals. If anyone out there is in our area and is interested, you are most welcome to attend. PM me for further details about the network, copies of minutes etc.

Sue, if you're concerned about allotments being rationalised and disappearing, I can only suggest you and your colleagues get to know the area reporter for your local paper/s and let them have the story. They're always desperate for local news and campaigns to publish and can often be the source of good publicity for your cause if you keep them on board. Some months ago we "befriended" the reporters on our two local papers when running a campaign to stop our village library from partial closure. They were delighted to help us with publicity (regular features & photos) and were very instrumental in helping us to get a successful result. As "Grow Your Own" and Allotments are very much in the news at the moment I'm sure they'd be delighted to give you some publicity.