This shows through the lens of the Birmingham photographer Luke Unsworth the state of the old Victoria Jubilee Allotments (VJA) in Handsworth, Birmingham UK - a private allotment site sold off by its remaining gardeners to a developer who agreed, in return for building houses on over a third of the 20 acre site, to lay out the remaining green space as allotments and playing fields. This agreement was concluded with Birmingham City Council in May 2004. As of December 2008 it has not been put into effect. City council planner Alan Orr says that the developer is breaching the terms of a Section 106 Agreement.
But now in June 2009 to our delight it has been announced that 80 plots of 200 square yards each plus a clubhouse will be handed over to Birmingham City Council by August. There are already 42 names on the shortlist for the new plots. Anyone interested in a plot can apply by phoning 0121 303 3038 or going on the allotments section of Birmingham City Council's website.
Contact: Simon Baddeley e-mail: simon@baddeley.be Handsworth Allotment Information Group (HAIG)
...and on 12 June 2010 the new Victoria Jubilee Allotments were opened for those who'd placed their names on a short list to select their plot. All 79 plots were selected by 14 June with most going to new plotholders within the first hours of opening.
democracystreet...
Although we may regret the selling off the old site which covered such a large area I believe that the pleasure taken by the men and women who worked this site in previous years will be passed on to a new generation of gardeners.
See also BBC Midland Report 'Losing the Plot': vimeo.com/12157596
3 окт 2024
