Allotment Association plots layout for new site

FROME Allotment Association has already made progress with the new allotment site at Birchill Lane, which it manages on behalf of the town. 

Earlier this month, Frome Development Community Interest Company and Frome Town Council purchased the Muriel Jones site with funds from a local benefactor.

The five-acre site will be home to 80 plots, 15 by five metres in size. There will also be a number of smaller plots, 10 metres by five.

Allotment Association chair Neil Cameron said, “We’re very conscious of the fact that we have over 150 people on the waiting list, and we have a responsibility to ensure that as many families as possible have the opportunity to grow their own food. We are in the process of contacting people on the waiting list and allocating the first 20 plots; by the new year we hope to have them up and running.”

In the coming weeks much of the infrastructure work will take place, including hedging, new gates and hard-surfacing the car park. The plots will be marked out and the top layer of grass will be removed with a turf cutter, so that plot holders will be able to cultivate the soil with ease. Raised beds close to the car park area will be provided for gardeners with disabilities.

The work of volunteers has always been crucial to the work of the Allotment Association and a team of members will renovate an old barn. Outreach worker Steve Neal said, “The barn will serve a variety of purposes, but one of its main uses will be for a course on growing and cooking food, which the Allotment Association will develop with Frome Community Education.

Neil added, “The site is so large that there’s something for everyone. It’s an exciting time for gardeners in Frome.”

Email: info@fromeal lotmentsco.uk – Website: fromeallotments.co.uk – Twitter: @fromeallotments