It sounds a progressive, imaginative project. A beautiful hilltop allotment site that would serve the people of Bristol keen to get out in the fresh air and grow their own fruit and veg, but who cannot find plots in their city.
However, members of a planning committee have dealt a severe blow to the scheme after people who live near the site in the well-heeled village of Abbots Leigh launched a fierce campaign against the privately run project, arguing it would blight their idyllic green belt area.
During a passionate North Somerset council planning meeting, the team behind the scheme said they simply wanted to make the joys of gardening and independent food production accessible to all.
But residents and councillors expressed concerns that it would affect wildlife such as rare bats and endangered skylarks, and said they were worried about an 80-space car park planned at the site.
The meeting on Wednesday ended with councillors rejecting the plan. Christian Samuel, one of the founders of the business behind it, Roots, accused councillors of letting down would-be allotment holders keen to get their hands on one of the 700 plots.
“I feel sorry for the people who are desperate to get out there and grow their own,” said Samuel at the conclusion of the meeting. “What has happened in there is a real shame.”
There is little doubt there is a need for more allotments. According to research from the University of Sheffield, there has been a 65% reduction of allotment land in the UK since the mid 20th-century.
There are an estimated 330,000 allotment plots in the UK, mostly council-owned. In 2021, the average wait for an allotment was two years and eight months, with a waiting list of about 100,000 people.
Roots bills itself as the UK’s first “no-dig” allotment community, meaning gardeners avoid disturbing the natural structure of the soil by turning it, instead just adding more organic material on top and letting the worms pull it in.
It says that with waiting lists for allotments stretching to more than 10 years in some parts of the country, its mission is to provide green, soulful spaces for everyone.
The business’s first two sites were in Bath. For the first, the team divided a farmer’s field into plots and provided seeds, tools and courses. As well as growing veg, allotment holders have taken part in yoga sessions and community picnics.
The Tuckers Meadows site proved hugely popular and a second, Avon Views, was launched in the city.
Bristol, 12 miles from Bath, is known for its green credentials. With many more people wanting to grow food than there are local authority allotments, it seemed to be the obvious place for another Roots project.
Roots found an 8-hectare (20-acre) site in Abbots Leigh, just outside the city boundaries, close to the Clifton suspension bridge, and planned 700 plots at Leigh Woods Meadows. Six hundred spots have already been snapped up.
But people in Abbots Leigh had concerns. A letter to the council signed by dozens of villagers complained that the allotments were not for local North Somerset people but were being marketed to Bristol residents.
“It’s a stunningly beautiful location, loved by thousands, but soon to be lost for ever if Roots’ plans go ahead unchecked,” the letter said.
The complainants characterised Roots as an “aggressively growing business” backed with venture capital, adding: “They want to do one thing and that is make money out of huge private allotment sites on greenfield agricultural land.”
The residents said people in other areas where Roots was planning to open were “looking very closely” at the North Somerset decision.
The tension became so acute that at one point the police were called when people blocked work vehicles heading into the field.
Roots accepts it is a business – but argues it is one for good, hoping to open up land to people who want to grow their own, be part of a vibrant community and learn more about the no-dig movement.
Plans have been drawn up for sites in London and Birmingham but it is looking at expanding “everywhere”.
Jenna Ho Marris, a Green councillor, told the meeting there was “a lot to like” about the concept but said Roots was a business “with a fast-moving expansion plan” and the decision in Somerset could set a precedent when other local authorities considered similar schemes.
Councillor Terry Porter, himself an allotment holder and grower of prize vegetables, said the rental price of the plots (from £9.99 to £34.99 a month) meant it would not be accessible to all.
Members of the planning and regulatory committee voted unanimously against the project over concerns about the car park.
Samuel called the decision a travesty. He said Roots would appeal but the refusal would put back the scheme by months.
“We are trying to build a growing community that shows food production and nature can coexist without large scale destruction via pesticides,” he said. “The council has let allotment holders down.”
The chair of Abbots Leigh parish council, Simon Talbot-Ponsonby, said he was relieved. “But it’s not the end. They will keep fighting. Allotments are a good thing but not at that scale.”
