News / allotments
Growers install artwork in fight over allotment rent hikes
“Bristol City Council can shove their price hikes up their asparagus!” was the succinct message of one rake-wielding grower as the campaign against rises in Bristol allotment fees went up a notch.
Dozens of allotmenteers young and old came together to watch the installation of a new billboard in St Werburgh’s on Sunday afternoon proclaiming: ‘Allotments are for everybody’.
Depicting a scene of growers, birds, chickens and bees at a plot in autumn-time, one campaigner said the aim of printed artwork on Mina Road was “to show how allotments are incredibly valuable spaces that we need to protect”.
is needed now More than ever
Bristol City Council announced plans at the end of 2023 to change allotment rules and increase fees, with some plots more than doubling, sparking a campaign by growers who fear the changes could force them off the land.
While the proposed changes “will not be taken forward in their current form” in the wake of widespread resistance, rent hikes and combined water charges could still be pushed through.
View this post on Instagram
Holly Wyatt said her allotment in Bedminster Down, which she has cared for the last eight years, is her “haven”.
Speaking about the new billboard, Wyatt said: “We want to make sure that everyone across Bristol is aware of what’s happening with the city’s allotments.”
“I hope that people walk past and see that allotments are not just for food growing but are communities and places of nature and wildlife.
“They aren’t forgotten or unmonitored: they are incredibly valuable spaces that we need to protect.”
Wyatt added her fees could almost double to nearly £300 a year but won’t qualify for a 50 per cent reduction despite living in low-income household as she doesn’t meet the threshold. It’s a cost that is “completely unaffordable” for her.
The artwork was created by Rosanna Morris and Claire Watkins
The artwork was co-created by printmaker Rosanna Morris who said her allotment at Thingwall Park in Fishponds is “a huge part of my family’s lives”.
“It’s so important for us to have a connection to the food we eat when our lives are so plastic-wrapped and industrialised,” the artist said.
The public consultation into the city council’s new allotment rents and tenancy policy closed earlier in February.
The council, which manages 4,000 plots, with another 1,500 run on its behalf by five associations, has said it needs to increase rents, which were last reviewed in 2018, and that there are 8,000 people on the waiting list, so more space needs to be freed up.
The plans that could have seen allotmenteers forced to remove trees, fences, hedges and large play equipment were recently shelved by the council, with Labour cabinet member Ellie King admitting she shared some of the disappointment about the process.
Writing in mayor Marvin Rees’ blog, King said the proposals will not be taken forward in their current form “to ensure an inclusive and accessible parks service” however proposed rent hikes and combined water charges could still be under the table with the feedback “still being considered” before a renewed proposal goes to cabinet next month.
Wyatt called the step “positive” but added: “The fight isn’t over.”
It was a community effort that installed the new billboard on the junction between Thomas Lane and Mina Road in St Werburgh’s
Veronica Wignall, a campaigner for AdBlock Bristol which co-organised with billboard along with Bristol Allotmenteers Resist, told Bristol24/7 that reclaiming the disused advertising space shows it is possible to have “art instead of ads”.
“I’m proud to show this message of solidarity in the local allotmenteers’ campaign to look after our food sovereignty and make sure that growing food is accessible for everyone,” Wignall went on.
“We hope that people see here there is community, a feeling of belonging to the place that you live rather than being surrounded by messages that don’t mean anything, and bring a smile to people’s faces.”
All photos: Rob Browne
Read next:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
