Don’t lose the Plot: Our Campaign to save Eastleigh’s allotments from development

The Association ran a 5 year of a campaign to save two allotment sites threatened by housing development.  The campaign to save a third site from development continues.  The following is a potted history of the Association's battle.

 In December 2002, Eastleigh Borough Council announced plans to allocate South Street, Monks Way and Woodside Avenue allotment sites for new housing. These proposals subsequently appeared in the Local Plan Review, which went to Public Inquiry in 2004. Supported by hundreds of allotment holders and thousands of local residents, the Association presented evidence to the Local Plan Public Inquiry in opposition to these controversial housing proposals.

In spite of these significant efforts, the Borough Council’s housing allocations were retained within the Local Plan, although the Association did succeed in securing important changes to the Plan’s allotments policy.

Whilst the new Local Plan for the Eastleigh Borough identified the three allotment sites for future housing, the Council still required consent to dispose of the sites under Section 8 of the 1925 Allotments Act. In May 2004 the Council made an application to dispose of South Street and Monks Way allotments. Deputy Prime Minister, Mr John Prescott, ordered a second Public Inquiry in response to the Association’s fierce opposition to the disposal of these allotment sites. This second Public Inquiry (the first Section 8 Public Inquiry for around 10 years) was to establish whether the necessary criteria for disposal could be satisfied. Held over 6 days in April 2005, the Association put up 5 expert witnesses to present evidence challenging the Council’s ability to satisfy the necessary criteria and advocating a refusal of permission for the disposal of these allotment sites.

Secretary of State's decision to grant permission for disposal

In a letter to the Association dated 12th July 2006, the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) announced that the decision of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government was to grant consent for the disposal of South Street and Monks Way allotments.

This decision significantly undermines the Government's stated intent to ensure that adequate protection is afforded to allotments (click here for details).

This was a disappointing outcome for the Association and the affected plot holders.  Moreover, the decision was was to set a worrying precedent that could adversely affect the protection of statutory allotments country-wide.  The disposal criteria that have been laid down and which were expanded in 2002, specifically to provide better protection for allotments, were not being rigidly applied and were failing to provide the necessary level of protection in this case.  The degree to which people can therefore rely on these disposal criteria to give the necessary level of protection to statutory allotments has been thrown into serious question. 

The Association presented extensive evidence to two public inquiries, with reference to the importance of allotments and the need to ensure their protection as advocated by national Planning Policy Guidance Note 17, Open Space, Sport and Recreation (PPG17).  This PPG was only revised in 2002 and appeared to represent an important material consideration that should have considerable influence in such decisions.  Neither of the public inquiry inspectors gave any weight to this evidence re PPG17, which hardly features in the Inspector's report on the Section 8 inquiry held in April 2005.  In complete contrast, weight is placed on matters relating to Housing as advocated by PPG3.  The degree to which people can rely on the measures laid out in PPG17 is therefore also subject to serious question.

Challenge to the decision - Judicial Review in the High Court

On 11th October 2006, an aggrieved plot holder lodged an application with the High Court for permission to proceed with a Judicial Review of the Secretary of State's decision to grant permission to sell South Street and Monks Way allotments.

Following a refusal of permission to proceed with a Judicial Review by the High Court on 23rd February, the request was repeated by way of an oral renewal to the High Court.  This will took place on Monday 25th June 2007.

The Association was fully supportive of this High Court challenge and strongly believed that the Secretary of State's decision to grant consent was flawed and should have been quashed.  Unfortunately, the decision was not quashed, although the Judge expressed sympathy with this case.  Click on the tab (top left of this page) to read more about the outcome of the High Court challenge.

If you want to know why we thought it was so important to challenge the Secretary of State's decision, click here.

This campaign has provided us with valuable experience in such matters and we would be happy to share our experience where this can help others and prevent the national decline in allotment provision within the UK.  This is particularly important at a time when demand is increasing strongly, as has been forecast for some time.

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