Charnwood Borough Council

Allotments are an important part of the culture within Charnwood, and provide a wide range of benefits to communities and to the environment. They have many advantages, providing fresh vegetables, fruit and flowers, free from pollutants, at a fraction of the cost paid in supermarkets. They also provide valuable recreational opportunities for healthy physical activity and social contact, a place where people can relax and unwind. Allotments make a significant contribution to our green spaces, and provide habitats for many forms of wildlife.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide allotments for the public. Charnwood Borough Council manage 9 allotment sites within the Loughborough area (if you are interested in an allotment site outside the Loughborough area, please contact the relevant town or parish council - see Contacts document for details).

The nine sites managed by Charnwood Borough Council are:

Site/location	Status	No of plots	Number on waiting list (updated Jan 10)
Mountfields, Epinal Way	Permanent	64	32
Lodge Farm, Forest rd	Permanent	44	30
Ingle Pingle, Forest Rd	*Permanent	22	19
Park Farm, Hazel Rd	Permanent	20	17
Beacon Road, Epinal Way	*Permanent	13	19
Meadow Ave	Permanent	22	16
Alan Moss Rd (Phases 1 & 2)	Permanent	61	52
Great Central Road	*Permanent	36	34
Castledine St Ext.	*Permanent	2	2

The Council has recently reclassified these temporary allotment sites to permanent sites

In 2010/2011 the rent is £13 per 100 sq. yds. (permanent sites). Concessionary rates are available for 60+, students in f/t education and those in receipt of income related benefits (proof of eligibility is required)

A full sized plot varies between 200 and 400 sq. yds., and there are a limited number of smaller plots available. To put your name down on the allotment waiting list simply fill in the application form and e-mail/post to the parks section at Charnwood Borough Council. Allotments require frequent visits and hard work in order to keep them to an acceptable standard of cultivation. It is recommended that you choose a site relatively close to where you live. Demand for allotments at present is quite high and if this trend continues the council would need to investigate possibly adding to the allotment stock. In the meantime there are one or two interesting initiatives that may help to bring more local land into cultivation such as 'landshare' (see Landshare link below)

Waste disposal is undertaken by Charnwood borough Council at no extra cost, although tenants are urged to compost as much green waste as possible themselves, otherwise it may go to landfill. A water supply is provided for each site, apart from Castledine St. Ext. Site. Most of the boundary hedges, the fencing and roadway maintenance are also the responsibility of Charnwood Borough Council.Plot holders are responsible for any internal hedging work on their plot.

New tenants usually have the option of having the plot cleared of vegetation and rotovated free of charge. Existing tenants can purchase plot rotovation for a fee of £34.17

• Allotment Application Document (Word Document 395.5 Kb)
• Allotment survey 2007 - results (Word Document 29.5 Kb)
• Allotment Survey 2009 (Word Document 255 Kb)
• Rules and regulations for CBC allotments (Word Document 32 Kb)

Contacting the Council at:

• Contact Allotments

News

The Loughborough in Bloom partnership are running several competitions associated with this year's East Midlands in Bloom bid, including a 'best' Allotment competition. Tenants of any Loughborough site, including those managed by Charnwood Borough Council, are eligble to enter. Entries have to be submitted by 1st June 2010. The application form can be downloaded from this web page, or you can call Steve Waters on 01509 634975 to have one posted to you.

There are no prizes for winning the competition, only the prestige of being the best kept allotment in Loughborough and the satisfaction of contributing to Loughborough's East Midlands in Bloom bid!

Useful links

SWCAA

Landshare

National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners

Allotment Regeneration Initiative