The council-run waiting list for allotments closed in 2018 because it had risen to 94 people
SOME green-fingered people in Penarth are turning to community gardens to help solve a chronic shortage of allotments with some plots remaining in the same hands for more than 30 years.
Penarth has just 54 allotment plots across three sites – Harbour View, Paget Terrace, and Windsor Road – and all those sites are full.
There is a list of people waiting to take over any allotments that become available, but this doesn’t happen often. There is a waiting list for allotments, but it had piled up to 94 people when it was closed to new applicants seven years ago.
Since then, only a few plots have changed hands each year since with just 23 new leases signed since 2020.
Allotments leases are awarded without an expiration date to the next person on the waiting list. Allotments only become available when the leaseholder voluntarily relinquishes the plot, passes away, or the council removes the lease due to a lack of maintenence by the leaseholder.
Most Penarth residents stand little chance of getting one.
View from the allotment
Anne Crowley, 69, grows potatoes, onions, spinach, broccoli, and fruit on her patch of Harbour View Allotments. She received the plot in 2014 after a decade-long wait of her own – and so intends to hold onto it.
“I’m here from April to November, three or four times a week,” said Mrs Crowley, who is self-sufficient for fruit and veg for six months of the year.
“Most of the time, I’m up here alone. I love the solitude. Gardening has been a big part of my life since my late twenties.
“During COVID too, I was able to come here, and it changed everything. It’s just down the road from me, and quite lovely with the sea view.”
While grateful for her plot, Mrs Crowely believes more allotments should be made available.
“We’re short of land in Penarth, but still, the council could do more,” she said.
“We had access to raised beds at West House for some time, but there wasn’t sufficient support from the council – we couldn’t even use the West House toilets while we gardened there.”
Council has no plans for expansion
Penarth Town Council says there are no immediate plans to reopen the waiting list or expand allotment provision.
A bid for grant funding to create raised-bed plots at Pembroke Terrace Play Area was rejected, and the council says it does not own any other suitable land.
The waiting-list will not reopen unless numbers drop to the “mid-single figures” or there is a surge in tenants leaving.
At Windsor Road Allotments, one plot has been occupied since 1994—over 30 years. At Harbour View, the longest-held plot dates back to 2004, and at Paget Terrace, since 2005.
Conservative councillor Rhys Thomas has criticised the lack of action, saying: “The Town Council should be pursuing grant funding to boost allotment provision and making better use of under-utilised council-owned land.
“Other councils have long-term allotment strategies -Penarth should follow suit.”
Read more:
- Artists snap up spaces in shared studios designed to improve the cultural life of Penarth
- More than 1,600 sign petition against plan for parking charges on Penarth seafront
- ‘There’s something about Grangetown’: Its colourful story celebrated by the people who live there
Penarth Councillor Elliot Penn, Mayor of the Vale of Glamorgan, said that there is no space to increase capacity. “The provision of allotments is usually considered as part of a planning application for new developments or through private allotments. At present, we are not aware of any plans to increase the number of plots in Penarth.”
He also suggested that Penarth residents should apply for allotments in Llandough, which has been developing their overflow allotment site. Spare plots will be offered to Llandough Residents applications first, but surplus plots could be up for grabs for Penarth residents.
“It’s worth putting names down on the waiting list for the allotments at Llandough Community Council’s site on Lewis Road and their other site at Corbet Road,” said Mr Penn.
A shift to community gardening?
“Community gardens are a great way to get outside, come together, and chat,” said Anne Crowley, who is also a trustee of the council funded sustainability group Gwyrddio Penarth Greening (GPG).
Founded during COVID, Penarth Growing Community is a subgroup of GPG, and works with groups like St. Joesph’s Park and the Friends of the Kymin to maintain community spaces.
Left: Richard Parry during a meet at the Kymin. Credit: Penarth Growing Community.
For Rachel Miles-Baker, community gardening has filled the gap while she waits for a plot. After discovering that Penarth’s council-run allotments were closed to new applicants, she applied for Sully Terrace Allotments, a private site on Cliff Hill. She’s been on the list for over a year and expects to wait at least another four years.
“I think the community aspect is really important,” she said. “My son is eight years old and shows an interest in gardening – I want to get him involved!”
Mrs Miles-Baker has been attending gardening sessions at The Kymin, where volunteers meet fortnightly on Saturdays from 10-12. They welcome volunteers to come and tend to the orchard, raised beds, and meadows.
Following COVID, outdoor spaces have become more valued than ever, and with the cost-of-living crisis driving interest in homegrown food, demand for allotments will only increase.
Yet, without significant council investment, they will remain a scarce and exclusive resource.
For now, community gardening offers a way for residents to grow food, meet other people and share the benefits of green spaces together.
