Leamington on a sunny Sunday afternoon had a noisy awakening when the Leamington Allotment Societies combined to walk their wheelbarrows down The Parade. Over 200 supporters, banging watering cans, whistling whistles and hooting the megaphone accompanied the general call to Ban the Builders from Leamington Allotments.

Wheelbarrows of all shapes and sizes, decorated with all kinds of fruit and veg and lots of messages including ‘Save my Grandad’s Allotment’, ‘Builders have lost the Plot’, ‘Don’t be Mean, Keep Binswood Allotments Green’ and a dog with the message ‘Recycle food waste here’!

Along the way the response from the general public was totally positive and in support of our actions to prevent building on allotments or green spaces.  Over 100 signatures were collected as we made our way down The Parade. 

We stopped to re-group outside the Town Hall and also in front of Jephson Gardens main gate to many toots and hoots from passing cars.

Finally we all gathered in the Pump Room Gardens for words of support from Alan Beddow (LibDeb Spokesman for Warwick & Leamington),

Ian Davison (Green Party Spokesman), Bill Gifford (LibDeb Councillor),

Jak Sheridan (St Mary’s Allotment Society spokesperson) and

Chris White (Prospective Conservative Candidate for Warwick & L/Spa).

We received apologies and words of support from James Plaskitt MP who had a prior engagement in Warwick.

The speakers all showed total support for not building on allotments or on greenfield sites or green belt. Many suggestions were made to answer the Options for Growth consultation paper including building only on brownfield sites, smaller homes that people could really afford in Leamington and Warwick, and to use common sense to find the best solution to housing needs because allotments and green spaces are essential not only for today but for our children in the future. With over 200 people on the waiting lists for allotments we need more not fewer.

This show of strength underlines our belief that allotmenteers should not be mucked about and left to get on with what they like best – digging!

The Treasurer, worrying about the cost of it all!!

Read the latest updates from the Leamington Courier.