Penrith allotment chair has quit with damming claims about committee members as some allotment holders voice concerns about condition of Penrith allotments.
Often seen as a quite relaxing hobby allotments have seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years. Created through the Allotments Act of 1908 that required councils to supply allotments when demanded by the local residents leading to a steady growth in popularity in the early part of the last century, with allotments helping to keep the nation fed during both world wars but then falling out of favour in the 1960s and 1970s with plot holders viewed as blocking progress in the rush to free up land for the housing boom.
In 2020 the world again changed with the pandemic leading to a resurgence in the popularity of allotments as people in the search for the 'Good Life' and an escape from the dark days of the pandemic rediscovered allotments including the four allotment sites in Penrith.
In 2016, ownership of Penrith’s four allotment sites was transferred from the former Eden District Council to Penrith Town Council, placing full responsibility for the future management and maintenance of the allotments on the then newly formed town council.
At the time, Penrith Town Council delegated day-to-day management of the sites to the Penrith Allotment Association. While the council retains ownership and acts as landlord, the association has since handled all enquiries, managed vacancies, and maintained waiting lists across the four sites that include:
Salkeld Road – 21 full plots, 16 half plots
James Street – 11 full plots, 6 half plots
Folly Lane – 26 full plots, 28 half plots
Brackenber – 66 full plots, 64 half plots, and 38 separate hen runs
Over recent years, the town council has invested thousands of pounds in public funds into works at some of the allotment sites, including addressing drainage problems and resolving boundary disputes. However, the council receives no income from the allotment sites it owns.
Despite the town council owning the allotments and the association managing them, concerns have been raised by plot holders and residents about the deteriorating condition of some sites. Reports have emerged of plots being left overgrown, with rubbish and debris—including destroyed greenhouses—strewn across the land along with rubbish and dead animals.
One former plot holder quit their plot after a storm left a “pile of twisted metal” that was once greenhouse in the middle of her plot, the debris had come from a neighbouring plot over the past year and had yet to be removed. Another plot holder said he gave up one of his plots three years ago due to health issue, which now lies abandoned and “overgrown with weeds taller than him.”
Alongside the condition of the sites, issues have also surfaced within the Penrith Allotment Association itself. Chair Mark Kitchen announced on Tuesday that he had resigned from his role, as chair issuing a strong statement criticising fellow committee members.
Mr Kitchen said “Unfortunately, as a member of the committee we quite often get subjected to abuse by a small minority of plot holders, which should never be tolerated,” Mr Kitchen said. “And this certainly is a hindrance when it comes to you continuing with your position in the association.”
Reflecting on his time in the role, he said: “I would like to think that in the short time I’ve been in the position I have made some major changes which were desperately needed. New tenancy agreements, new website, the association left on a solid legal standing. These things were very important for our association.”
However, he expressed frustration with internal dynamics: “The most disappointing part has been the fact that the people that I should trust have gone behind my back and made poor decisions and not involved me in them despite the fact I’m the chairman.”
He added, “We desperately need a new secretary, someone who cares about our association and not themselves.”
“As a plot holder first and foremost, I’ve tried to do this. It’s time that the plot holders of our association stand up for themselves and stop the rubbish decisions that are being made by people who don’t even spend any time on our allotments.”
Mr Kitchen also claimed that the association “currently have a secretary and a treasurer from other areas who spend no time at their allotment site and have no interest in being at the allotments at all.”
“As someone who loves their allotment, and loves our town’s allotments I hope you will agree with me and help to try to change this situation. We as plot holders should not tolerate this any longer.”
Amid the growing issues, some plot holders and former town council members have called for Penrith Town Council to take back direct management of the allotments, arguing that allotment users should be allowed to focus on growing food, flowers, and keeping poultry rather than managing the sites themselves on the council’s behalf.
One allotment holder said the council should ensure all plots are usable and not allow them to fall into disrepair.
One resident from Castletown with a plot at Brackenber allotments went further, questioning whether the council might be “actively letting the allotments get into such a bad condition in order to allow the town council to justify selling the site for another housing development.”
Biosecurity concerns have also been raised following recent bird flu restrictions although now lifted due to rotting dead wild birds found across the allotment sites near plots with live poultry on them.
Penrith Town Council has been contacted for comment regarding the condition of its allotments and the issues with Penrith Allotment Association that manages them on the town council's behalf.
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