TEDDINGTON COUPLE FIGHT TO SAVE THEIR THREATENED ALLOTMENT
Pensioners Paul Cuff aged 79 and his wife Joy, aged 81 love their allotment in Shacklegate Lane, Teddington and have been working on it for over 20 years.
They say the fresh food and exercise helps them remain healthy.
Even more importantly, as shop prices rise, their ‘mini garden’ provides them with a steady flow of fresh vegetables such as new potatoes, spinach, broccoli, salads, mange tout, French and runner beans, tomatoes, peppers, leeks and so many more.
Also fresh fruit like gooseberry, raspberry, blackberry, tayberry loganberry, boysenberry and damsons, throughout the summer and autumn allowing them to make many pots of jam as well as store frozen and bottled fruit. Plot holders swap any surplus produce and neighbours benefit too.
Their allotment – with others – now controversially faces being taken by the Council to extend Teddington Cemetery which is running out of burial space and, according to Richmond Council, needs to extend into the allotment area.
Their specific plot is small by allotment standards – just four and half rods (the measurement used for allotment size) which is between 110 and 125 square metres.
The Teddington Society say: “The allotments are one of few open spaces in Teddington and have been enjoyed for around 100 years.
“The Council wish to take over the site for burials and they estimate that that it will be used up in about 30 years.
“In recent years the Council has allowed the space to be run down by preventing new applicants from taking over the unused plots despite the fact the Council’s own data indicates that there is a much unmet demand for allotments – there is a long waiting list for plots (around 3,500 requests).
“The loss of the Shacklegate Lane site will mean that current holders may be offered alternative plots elsewhere, but they will need to use a car or up to 2 buses to reach. We feel the Council hasn’t considered the needs of plot holders and the value of having such a valuable local space nearby.”
The couple are urging Richmond Council to look at ‘other options’
Angry and exasperated Paul told Teddington Town: “The allotment is a source of cheap fresh vegetables which you really can’t buy at the shops.”
He and his wife says they feel they have been “ignored and then fobbed off” by the Council and are urging officials to look at ‘other options’ such as ‘reburials’ where new graves can be added to existing graves – which is common on other countries and also some London boroughs – as well as making better use of space, such as old pathways.
There have been 59 objections to the Council’s plans.
Part of Paul’s objection quotes council policy and their plan which states: “The primary purpose of allotments is food production, and this fits well with the Borough’s policy of promoting sustainability. But they also provide their plot holders with exercise and contribute to increasing bio-diversity while enhancing individual and social wellbeing.
“In an urban environment, green space is a crucial factor in adding value to an area. Having green space near property is known to increase the property value, but the added value to the community and the environment is much more difficult to measure.
“What is clear is that allotments are multidimensional places that are socially inclusive and offer a wide range of benefits to a community including an opportunity for a year-round healthy lifestyle, mental relaxation and lifelong learning opportunities.
“Looking after an allotment is very much a family focused activity, which provides an opportunity for a family to have a common goal and encourage communication and interaction.
“This responsibility often develops into a great sense of pride and passion that invariably passes to future generations. As well as benefiting the plot holders and their families, there are also benefits for the wider community as there is greater social interaction and a sense of responsibility and ownership for the area. This results in a situation where social boundaries can be overcome and a collection of individuals become a community.”
Paul adds: “The Richmond side of the borough has quite a high provision of allotments in general but these are the only remaining allotments in Teddington itself. To use the allotments in Hampton would require the use of a car most of the time which is not environmentally friendly, not available to everybody and certainly does not comply with 20 minute objective.
“It would appear to us that the reuse of graves (many without head stones, totally neglected and in some cases nearly 150 years old) in Shacklegate Lane cemetery is an opportunity for the council to comply with both strategic aims and show themselves to be the progressive authority that they aspire to be.
“Also the availability of burial space created by the current proposal will not be available for maybe 2 to 4 years and possibly longer. I would have thought it should be possible to start the re-use of graves in a shorter period. When all the graves are used they will have to consider alternatives, why not start now?”
Another objection says: ““I object to the plans to remove the allotments in Shacklegate Lane for the purpose of extending the cemetery.
“The allotments are a vital part of the Teddington community and used by a variety of people. It is important that we increase, not decrease, the visibility and opportunities for people to use green spaces practically and for their mental health.
“Working in natural environments, growing vegetables, flowers and fruit are skills that should be encouraged, not discouraged, and spaces where that can happen should be increased, not decreased. They are crucial not only for sustainability and environmental reasons, but to promote and give opportunities for working in nature which encourages positive mental health, and can be a therapy as well as a preventative measure.
“I also understand that the allotments are worked by groups with disabilities and believe that it is wrong to remove this opportunity from them.”
A Council spokesperson told Teddington Town: “The Teddington Cemetery and Shacklegate Lane Allotments will be discussed at Planning Committee on Wednesday 17 December. We will be able to provide an update following this meeting.”
You can see the full application here and read the objections: https://planning.richmond.gov.uk/richmond/application-details/236643