Campaign to find Vacant Plots in Harrow

It is unfortunate that due to immense under funding, the department that deals with allotments is unable to do annual inspections of Allotment Sites to check that all plots are being cultivated in accordance with the tenancy agreements. This means that there may be sites which have a number of plots which are either being un-worked or even with rent not being paid.

It is possible (and indeed should be a duty) for the council to follow up any such situations and terminate any tenancy which is found to be breech of agreement, thus making them available for the large number of people who seem to be having difficulty finding a vacancy close to home.

It is often the case that people move away and forget to inform the Council or become to busy or too frail to continue
working a plot and just stop paying the rent. For some reason this is not then being picked up by the Council and we
are left with this situation where, despite plots being available, prospective tenants are being told that a site if full and
that they can be put on a waiting list.

How you can help. If you are thinking of giving up your plot, ring the allotment office and let them know that you will
be terminating your agreement so as they can keep their records up to date and offer your plot to those on the waiting
list.

Or, if you are on a site and you believe a plot is no longer being worked then e-mail the council at
publicrealm@harrow.gov.uk and send a copy of your e-mail to us at info@harrowinleaf.org.uk (we keep records too)
or talk to them by phoning 0845 225 2600 or 020 8424 1756 and giving them the site name and plot (or half plot)
number.

Alternatively, if you are looking for a plot, it is well worth going to the site and having a look around. If you find a plot
that looks like it has not been cultivated for some time then let the council know so as they can follow it up for you and
make it available – it’s better than being on a waiting list.

There are many available plots through out Harrow, the Council’s own recent figures suggest 23% of plots are not being
used. We believe that you should be able to find one close to home. If the demand out strips availability then Harrow
Council should be looking at making new land available for Allotments – we hope to encourage them to do this when
the time comes.

New Plots at Kenton Rec

In response to the pressure for new allotment plots in the borough, the council has recently extended the site at Kenton Recreation Ground.

Many years ago the plots there stretched way across the park, indeed the old maps show numbering up to 91.
In more recent times the number had shrunk, until there were only 9 x 5 pole plots remaining, with the rest being taken back into the park.

Now, however, a further 15 x 5 pole plots have been added.
The Council weed-killed and rotovated the ground, and extended the fencing to enclose the whole site, with an extra gate added into the far end of the site.
      
With the help of members of the Larches Trust, who have taken a plot there, the ground was marked out, and with woodchip supplied by the council, paths between the plots were laid. Extra standpipes and water tanks are due to be installed, and all the new plots have been leased out.

The whole site now looks immaculate, and with the waiting lists in the borough      
now standing at over 600, this will give 15 new people a chance to ‘grow their own’.