To receive a report from the Head of Climate Change and Sustainability.

The Head of Climate Change and Sustainability provided an overview of the report which had been supplied with the agenda. The Committee were informed of the key themes within the report.

The Council recognised that the service was crucial in improving community cohesion. The Allotments Officer in attendance was hired in September 2023 to oversee the service and gave opportunity for more discussions to take place over the priorities of the service.

Challenges faced by the service were shared with the Committee, including that the rental fee for an allotment in Trafford remaining static since 2015 whilst over costs associated with the service had risen.

Other themes that were shared from the report included increasing issues of flooding and extreme heat over recent and forthcoming years, the current waiting list for an allotment in Trafford of 540, and plans being put in place to increase access to allotments moving forward.

Opportunities were being developed as part of an Allotments strategy which was currently in development. This involved improving the services approach to communications, its website, a review of current internal processes, and developing networking and training within the service and for those that used it. There was also a desire from the service to tap into ongoing work being done across the Council on improving food cultivation, with the service hoping to play a role in improving this area within the borough.

The Chair thanked the officer for the report and opened the floor for questions from the Committee.

Councillor Frass asked if due to the allotments service being funded through the rent, was there any scope to expand sites or to look at Council owned plots which could be turned into new sites. The Head of Climate Change and Sustainability responded that there were no plans currently to increase the number of allotments in the borough. However, there were aims to increase the number of communities growing collectives and promoting local growing groups. The officer would take away looking at using Council land to discussions on the development of the strategy.

Councillor Frass asked further what was being done around dealing with the issue of flooding, highlighting issues on sites in his allotment. The Head of Climate Change and Sustainability recognised the issue. Referred to the strategy and how this would be discussed as part of this, as well as work that was done with Amey and their drainage engineers who monitor the issue.

Councillor Winstanley enquired as to how the Council would help to build networks between different allotments sites and how they would encourage residents to get involved. The Head of Climate Change and Sustainability said that this was not something that had been thought about yet but was something to be considered. The service was keen to work with allotment committees and wanted to make sure tenants were not excluded from communications. Councillor Winstanley asked whether the service had the contact details of allotment tenants. The Allotments Officer responded that they did have contact details, but not all emails, which was part of what the service was aiming to do around communications being much quicker, with much currently being sent hard copy.

Councillor Winstanley also asked how much input the Council had over self-managed allotments and whether they would get involved if a dispute happened in an allotment committee. The Head of Climate Change and Sustainability responded that these were self-sufficient, but the Council may get involved if there was a particular dispute.

Finally, Councillor Winstanley asked whether there would be an element of improving inclusivity within allotments, citing an example of an allotment raising money to making a site disability friendly. The Head of Climate Change and Sustainability assured the Councillor that despite not being flagged in the report, it was being discussed internally and was seen as a key issue. The Executive Member for Climate Change added that any future strategies for the service would engage inclusivity in their approach.

Councillor Carter enquired as to whether there was protocol to cease tenancy of plots going unused and whether this could be tightened. The Head of Climate Change and Sustainability answered that there was protocol, however, how this was used varied case by case, with some being complex and involving mitigating circumstances behind less usage.

Councillor Carter liked the allotments culture, however, with Council’s facing acute financial problems, asked whether there were any plans to review allotment rates which had gone unchanged since 2015. The Head of Climate Change and Sustainability answered that there were currently no plans but recognised that the discussion may need to be had in the near future.

Councillor Axford provided her support for community growing groups and networking between different allotments.

Councillor Coggins asked how effectively allotments were at helping people out of poverty and whether there were any demographic statistics behind allotment usage. Further, did the fee have to be paid up front, or could this be spread across the year. The Head of Climate Change and Sustainability responded that there were no specific statistics on demographics, but that as part of the strategy, and using Trafford data lab, this would be looked at in the future. The allotments fee was paid upfront.

Councillor Coggins raised concerns from allotment tenants around lease renewals and asked whether there could be confirmation that none of the Council’s current sites would be sold off. The Head of Climate Change and Sustainability answered that they were not aware of any plans to close currently and would discuss with other departments around the process for how lease renewals were managed.

Councillor Coggins asked finally whether there was space for less formal community growing projects, where residents could make greater used of the borough’s green spaces. The Head of Climate Change and Sustainability assured the Councillor that there were aims to promote this to residents.

Councillor Butt felt that communications should improve around engaging young people into the process and promoting the positives of organic eating and growing. The Executive Member for Climate Change supported this point and committed to working with public health in the establishment of this strategy.

The Executive Member for Highways, Environmental and Traded Services responded to Councillor Coggins’ question around less formal community growing groups, with different projects taking place by different groups across the Borough. The Director of Highways, Transport, and Environment added that suggestions from the evening would be used as part of the development of both the Allotments and Greenspaces’ Strategies.

The Chair thanked the officers for all the work that they were doing. The Chair provided his support for involving school children in attending allotments.

          RESOLVED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That the Head of Climate Change and Sustainability take the feedback from Members as part of the development of the Allotments Strategy.