ALLOTMENT OWNER HITS OUT AT COUNCIL OVER CLOSURE
Shacklegate Lane allotment owner Paul Cuff has given his angry reaction to their closure and handover to the Teddington Cemetery.
Paul told Teddington Town he was “annoyed and frustrated.”
He added: “The listening council have not really listened to the local residents on this issue.
“The local MP has done nothing to help in our attempt to retain the allotments.
”All she has done is sidestepped the issue and passed it over to Councillor Neden-Watts.
“She is the Chair of the Environment, Sustainability, Culture and Sports Services Committee.
“She dismissed our petition as a mere “bargaining chip” whatever that means. When you present an argument to the council you are allowed 3 minutes.
“They may then ask question. Then they discuss amongst themselves. You are not allowed to say anything in that discussion despite a lot of what is being said is factually incorrect, irrelevant, and doesn’t really address any of the points you have raised.
“They are are now pushing the idea of community gardening on the same site and are asking for volunteers. On their current plan they have about 30 raised planters and they say on their notice. We are creating opportunities for:
“Community growing spaces”
“Biodiversity projects”
“Outdoor learning”
“Volunteering opportunities”
“Someone has scrawled ‘thats what allotments have been doing for 100 years’
“This, she says, is an alternative. Seeing it is open to the public you wouldn’t want to grow your vegetables there and you would need a ladder to pick your runner beans.
“She does not seem to understand allotments. For me it’s not just a leisure/social activity, it’s part of my income. For 9 months of the year I eat fresh organic fruit and veg and I never need to buy jam.
“Anyway reluctantly I have moved all my stuff to a new allotment site (which is 25 minutes walk instead of 4 minutes).
“The council employee for allotments has been very helpful in this regard. I have also bought a bike which cuts the journey time down to 9 minutes.”
Teddington Town has requested a comment from local MP Munira Wilson