Borderers keen to dig in and grow their own
John Howie, treasurer of the group which has transformed grazing ground in Selkirk into allotments: a success story which others may wish to emulate
Growing our own fruit and veg is increasing in popu
larity. Photograph: ray cox
Nicholas Watson
THe burgeoning interest in allotments as a cheap and satisfying way to grow fruit and vegetables is currently being assessed regionwide by Jason Hedley, parks manager of Scottish Borders Council, writes Andrew Keddie.
It follows the success of a group of residents in the Bannerfield area of Selkirk who leased a piece of private land close to their local school and have now developed it into 15 plots with the help of a £10,000 lottery award and a further £2,500 community support grant from SBC.
In return for his largesse, the owner of the land, once grazed by pigs, has been allocated one of the plots.
After the story was reported in a recent issue of the council's newspaper, SBC Connect, Mr Hedley received 34 responses from Borderers keen on taking a plot in their local area.
In order to get a more comprehensive assessment of demand for allotments, Mr Hedley has now written to all 60 community councils "to raise awareness of a current public interest campaign".
"We are seeking to establish the level of interest as regards the availability and potential use of allotments and gather details of groups who may be interested in allotments in their town and village," writes Mr Hedley.
Householders in Lauder, supported by Councillor Nicholas Watson (Leaderdale and Melrose), have already formed a constituted allotments society.
This week Mr Watson revealed that although that group had looked at several different sites in the burgh, nothing suitable had yet been identified.
However, he was optimistic a suitable site owned by SBC could be developed in Tweedbank - at Killie Holes, a sunny and sheltered piece of land between the new Barratt development at Weavers Linn and Cherry Park.
"I hope we can get something started in Tweedbank, but the difficulty is getting people together," said Mr Watson. "I would urge everyone interested to let Mr Hedley's department know."
Community councils, ad hoc groups or individuals wishing to register an interest or having access to suitable land should contact SBC on 0300 100 1800 and ask for Esther Murdoch (EMurdoch@scotborders.gov.uk) before August 16.
