Save London Allotments from Development

There has been a petition raised to save Granville Road Allotments in Southfields, SW18. It is only a little site, but Wandsworth only have a small number of allotment spaces, and for the most part a 10 year waiting list. Of course the biggest problem here is that these allotments are privately owned and therefore do not fall into the remit of how allotments are managed within London, especially in the Wansworth area who have farmed out the running of their allotments to an external contractor.

The number of allotment spaces within London is rapidly dwindling as land is converted to a higher income by selling it off to developers to build housing and commercial interests. This is relatively easy to do as the land only needs minimal clearance to turn once fertile land into sterile brick and concrete. If this last year is anything to go by, the amount of plots available will shrink, whilst the demand increases.

So it's time to take a stand against this commercialisation of the land. Sign the petition today.

More Stupidities

A little while back, I wrote about the "Authorities" trying to get people to stop growing vegetables. Well it seems like it's happening again.
Now I can understand some planning guidelines which can prevent eyesores and the lowering of market values, such as builders rubble and the like being dumped. But growing veggies?
Sorry, but I am completely perplexed by this.
Now obviously here in the UK we also have some laws. I've been researching into them. And it seems that there is absolutely no laws against growing food in your gardens. The only mandates are if you live in a gated community that has some kind of charter or covenant. But even then, thats only between house holders in that area. There doesn't appear to be anything at a Council or County level. I'll gladly accept details if you know otherwise.

Common sense prevails?

Remember I told you about Karl Tricamo and his troubles with the local Town Council? Well it seems that common sense has made an unexpected visit. It seems that the citation against his garden has been dismissed in a vote of 4 to 1.
The Chairman of the Board, Joe Schroeder, stated after the vote, "But I think that all of us on the board agreed that the garden is an eyesore. It goes against common sense, really, to put a garden in the front yard instead of the back." Personally I think the common sense decision is to allow people to grow whatever they want providing it's not hazardous in any way. That in my mind means poisonous, liable to cause damage to property or surroundings or liable to provide an obstruction or menace (blocking line-of-sight, or releasing pollen etc.) Within those limits the growing of veggies should certainly be allowed.
And it's not only Karl who has these issues. In another recent case, a couple in Canada, are also fighting to retain their front yard vegetable garden.

What do you think?

A State of Stupidity

I do not have a garden. I live in a ground floor flat right next to a busy road. No garden at all, although I do have a car parking space...where I park my car. Hence I applied for an allotment.
But had I a garden, I would want to grow food. It is the right of anybody who wants to know exactly where their food comes from to do this. People have done it for thousands of years. But when some people try it all they get is harassment and abuse.
Take the story of Karl Tricamo. Karl lives in Ferguson, Missouri in the USA. He decided to grow food and medicinal plants instead of a lawn. Yet the local council seem to think that this is against all reason and seem to be trying to throw all sorts of problems his way.

Yes edible front gardens are unusual. Before people switched to un-leaded petrol it would have been unthinkable to eat food grown next to a road due to toxins, lead poisoning and other nasties. But these days it's not too much of a worry. It Karl's case it's even less of a worry. He lives in a cul-de-sac.
I think the main part here is that most people are too far removed from reality to realise exactly what is occurring these days. We have been fed a constant diet of "Economic Growth must continue" so much that it is now ingrained. Ask a child where does bacon come from, and you'll probably get an answer of "the supermarket". The food system is in crisis and people just want to buy more and more cheaper stuff which has a powerful knock on effect. Look at all the steps "celebrity" chef's do to make people wake up. Hugh's Fish Fight and Chicken Run, Jimmy's battle with the Supermarkets and Jamie's attempts for School Dinners. Being a veggie myself, my food costs are already lower. But everybody can choose healthier options just by applying a modicum of common sense. Of course, the only issue is that Common Sense does not appear to be very common.

And the sad part is that Karl is not alone. There are other people in other areas who have similar issues. Such as Ron Finley of Los Angeles, California, and  Julie Bass of Oak Park, Michigan. Having an allotment is seen as a common activity here in the UK. Same in Japan. But in the US, such concepts are almost unheard of. So to grow your own food for yourself and your family on your own land is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact I would encourage everybody to do it.