Save Penwortham Allotments - Stop Riverworks

Local allotment keepers are fuming that Preston City Council should even be thinking about building housing and businesses all over their precious patches of land.

Elaine Knox, secretary of Penwortham West Allotment Association has had this well argued letter opposing the Riverworks scheme published in today's Lancashire Evening Post:

Penwortham Allotments Under Threat - click on the picture to make it bigger

Elaine argues that Penwortham Holme West is one of Preston's largest allotment sites, despite having already lost many areas to road building. Losing it would reduce the allotment provision to Preston residents by a third, at a time when allotments have never been more popular, and when the sites are fully let and subject to a waiting list.

She says

Allotments are priceless community assets that, once lost, cannot be replaced

Elaine also points out that there are huge social, environmental and health benefits to the community offered by allotment gardening, and that for many families, this is the only way they can have access to fresh, nutritious and chemical free food.

The allotments are part of the precious green corridoor between Preston and Penwortham, a corridoor the council wants to destroy, in it's aggressive plans to expand across the Ribble.

Where Preston wants to build on the greenbelt land beside the Ribble - the darker pink areas would all be new housing

Preston City Council is currently applying to the North West Development Agency for funds for a feasibility study into the Riverworks ideas - ideas that would mean the loss not only of these local allotments, but also of local football pitches, recreation grounds and beautiful greenbelt land, all for the sake of a 'water sports park' that nobody actually wants.

There is no doubt that Preston City Council could make a killing by redesignating this greenbelt area, and selling it on to greedy developers - but this would be directly against the interests of local people, who love our river as it is, without a barrage, and without large housing estates springing up along its banks.

The NWDA must be stopped from spending public money on a project the public do not want, and which is directly against the interests of local Preston people.

Find out more about the threat to our allotments and the importance of allotment keeping to local people by clicking on the links below:

Ten Reasons why Preston City Council should not build over our allotments
Weekend on the Allotment
Tales from the Allotment, a blog by the Allotment Plotter.