Save Fortis Green Allotments latest

I recently received the latest edition of the Save Fortis Green Allotments Campaign newsletter. The campaign group is very well organised and doing a great job in fighting the threat to these allotments.

They set up a trust to negotiate with Thames Water to buy the allotment land and have now agreed a price of £30,000 with them – so are now fundraising to get that money and secure the future of the allotments for good.

The concerns for the future started with Thames Water touting around the land for sale - at a much higher price than £30,000. The land is designated as Significant Local Open Land (SLOL), which makes housing development difficult – but once developers get hold of land like this you can bet your bottom dollar they’ll use every dollar they have to secure planning permission through any route they can. So the threat is always there.

So, good news for the campaign, although it’s not all perfect – you can read the latest updates in full on the campaign website. This also includes all the ways in which you can support the cause, from signing the e-petition to making a donation.

They are also organising fundraising events and the next one is:

COMEDY NIGHT AND PROMISES AUCTION, to be held in Tetherdown School Hall on Saturday 27th February. We’re hoping to have Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith from The League of Gentlemen, Mark Maier and Andrew Clover performing for us, as well as some fantastic items to bid for, with food provided and a pay bar. Tickets are £25 each and are going on sale very shortly.

So you can put that in your diary and keep an eye out for details. The calendar I blogged about before sold out, so the group know what they’re doing! Hopefully this next fundraiser will be a big success too.

From a council point of view, my ward colleagues and I will obviously always resist any attempts to build over these (or any!) allotments if they come. Having chaired a scrutiny review on allotments a few years ago, I’m only too aware of the important role they have both for individuals and as a green, open space – and that demand for allotments already massively outstrips supply in many parts of Haringey.

For more information, do please visit the Save Fortis Green Allotments website.