Calderdale Council’s scheme encouraging people to plant and pick their own fruit and veg in the community is set to grow.
The community growing scheme has been running in Todmorden for the last year and will be extended to the Calder ward this spring – which includes Hebden Bridge, Wadsworth, Heptonstall and Blackshaw Head – and the rest of Calderdale in the next two years.
Building on the international success of Incredible Edible Todmorden, Calderdale Council launched the community growing licence last spring as a pilot in Todmorden. The aim is to help groups of people work together to create spaces where they can grow their own produce on Council-owned land.
The Council has identified patches of unused land and created easy-to-understand guidance and an online map showing all the Council-owned land available for community growing. Help is at hand from the Council’s Neighbourhoods Team, who will support groups through the whole process.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Marcus Thompson, said:
“Spring is here at last, and what better time to get outside and grow your own fruit and veg? Community growing is a great way for people to know where their food has come from, meet people, share ideas and put unused land to good use. People across Calderdale are telling us that they’d like to see more of this, so we’re extending our Todmorden scheme to spread the benefits throughout the borough. The scheme is literally growing from strength to strength, with local government colleagues in the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Japan wanting to launch similar projects.”
The Council is looking into the opportunity to extend community growing to land outside places like health centres, schools, nurseries and care homes, working with Incredible Edible Todmorden and other community groups and organisations who are interested in being part of the scheme.
Pam Warhurst from Incredible Edible Todmorden said:
“Calderdale Council’s roll out of the licence to grow on public land is a huge opportunity for all of us to put more local food on our plates and live well in hard times. It is also a vote of confidence in local people to work together to build healthier places to live and shows real leadership from our local council.”
If you are interested in giving community growing a go, please contact Kirsten Fussing at kirsten.fussing@calderdale.gov.uk or on 01706 548133 / 07795 475743.
Find guidance and the online map on the sustainable food page.
If you don’t have internet access at home, why not log in at your local library?