St Ann's Allotments
This 72 acre site is made up of some of the oldest Victorian detached town gardens which still survive in England. Now used as allotments there are still some interesting features which are protected by English Heritage. People lost interest in allotment gardening from the 1960’s onwards and the site became neglected and overgrown. Since the early 1990’s several local groups and many individuals have worked together to get support for the restoration and improvement work which is now being done. With increasing interest in food growing and allotments, the timing of this project is very fortunate.
The Heritage Lottery Fund, East Midlands Development Agency, Government Office East Midlands and Nottingham City Council have agreed to provide over £4.5m to cover capital expenditure and running costs over five years. The Renewal Trust has a Lease and Management Agreement for thirty years with Nottingham City Council during which time they will be paid by the Council to manage, maintain and improve the site. STAA Limited will manage the site and will also be responsible for achieving the training and jobs required by the various funders as a condition of their support.
One of the sites many allotments During the last year we have drilled down and located an underground source of water for the site and over 9000 metres of water pipe have been laid to provide a supply to each plot. 8400 square metres of roads have been resurfaced and the 51 kilometres of hedges will be trimmed and improved with fresh planting. Almost 100 plots have received new gates so far. Over the next 5 years around 60 plots will be restored to a condition suitable for gardening. 60 plots will be left as they are as wildlife areas to be managed by volunteers; these are the less attractive plots where the slope or ground conditions make gardening difficult. We are doing this because this is a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC).
As a result of the project three jobs have been created and over 330 people have received training which will improve their skills and job prospects. This training will continue through summer 2009.
An allotment centre is planned for 2010 which will be a focal point for visitors to the site and provide a meeting place for gardeners. Site security is being improved and restored to previous levels. STAA and others will prepare show plots which will help to tell the story of allotment gardening from Victorian times to the present day and will enable visitors to see how rewarding allotment gardening can be as a hobby and a source of fresh food. Regular open days and organised activities will ensure that as many people as possible visit the allotments. The STAA website is another source of information about the gardens which will be developed to enable wider access to the history of the site which is being researched and documented to record the social and horticultural histories. See http://www.staa-allotments.org.uk/