Case Study: Working with a Local Authority

Case Study: Working with a local authority

Llangollen Community Garden

Introduction

This organic food-growing community garden, based on the site of an abandoned plot in Llangollen, is owned by Denbighshire County Council which gave permission for the development of community growing in 2012. It’s an excellent example of the process of setting up a community garden on a council site, with a licence rather than a lease.

The gardening group has three main aims: developing a high quality organic food source in Llangollen; Providing opportunities for local people, groups and schools to directly engage with the natural world and food production; and building community links by bringing together individuals and locals groups. The group is also keen to develop wildlife on the site.

Catherine Veasey, who has been involved in the development of the garden through the local Friends Of The Earth group, describes more about the garden and how it worked with the council.

The site is bounded by a road, a stream and a private garden. It also borders the council-owned grounds of Plas Newydd. There are mature trees along its edges and an old stone building, formerly a weaver’s cottage, with the remains of its old water wheel still visible.

Thesite is mainly gardened once a week on Saturday mornings and is open to everyone (during gardening sessions). So far nearly 50 people have been involved from age 1-70. We have also had visits from children’s groups and hosted Open Days and events.

“The garden provides an attractive space where people can learn about growing and creative input from volunteers is encouraged. For larger groups, like the Guides, it’s the only space in town where they can easily get practically involved in a growing project. They have undertaken tasks like planting fruit bushes, sawing timber for a mini beast log pile in the children’s area andcreating a mini coppice. The garden is also a focus for social events. We have also hosted a programme of educational courses, funded by Cadwyn Clwyd, including a green woodworking course.

Land information

It took 18 months from initial discussions with the council to getting our hands dirty on-site (see time-line below). We acquired a license with the purpose of running a community garden.When the license was drawn up, we asked about a five year lease instead.Though this was refused, we went ahead. From their point of view, they had little idea then what or if we would achieve anything, so it was obviously easier on their part to have an agreement which left them with more control.

The Licence is not as strong as a lease. It gives us no long term rights to the land, but basically we pay a £1 a year peppercorn rent. (Initially we paid £75 half the £150 pound legal fee for drawing up the licence – the Council paid the other half.)

At present we are in talks about handing on official responsibility from the Friends of Earth group to a more independent garden group and we have asked about the possibility of different terms. Whatever happens with this, the more the garden is used, the more it builds up a strength and place in the community, which hopefully will give it some protection into the future.

Funding

So far the lack of security of tenure on the site has had no impact. We have had a few small sums from the local town council and a couple of very small grants £100 and £150 where the landowner was not an issue. We see it as a mutually beneficial arrangement with Denbighshire Council. It would obviously depend on circumstance; if we had been told we only had the land for two years we wouldn’t have put so much time in, but really the investment has been one of time rather than finance.

It was a neglected piece of land which the council had no resources to manage, so for them it is a bonus to have community involvement. The land currently has no value as building land as it would not get planning permission owing to road access. The only thing that would alter this is if the large house it adjoins sold its garden for development, but this is not an immediate threat.

It has been a great experience to take on this abandoned piece of land. We had nothing to lose really and we have had this fabulous plot for £1 a year.

Benefits of starting with a minimal budget

Originally there was a suggestion of having the garden planned and all laid out before starting via a big grant. In fact, our ad hoc creation of a garden has been much more satisfying for the group. Starting with a low budget means less pressure. It wouldn’t have been the end of the world if the project had ended, as so little money was put in. As it was we got started quickly and put in everyone’s creative input. What a community garden illustrates above all else is people power, an example of what can be achieved if six or seven people gather for a few hours each week. The hours add up, a garden gets created and along the way, amazing things happen - in our case a large stump getting dug out of the ground with nothing but hand tools!

Garden Development Timeline

Spring 2011 meeting with Denbighshire County Council where the idea of a community garden was first raised.

Friends of the Earth knew the piece of land had been purchased by Denbighshire Council, but basically they had no resources to develop it.

The land prior to sale had been privately owned and up until certainly the 1970’s and possibly later used as a vegetable plot. I explained about issues in Llangollen like a shortage of allotments, many houses with no gardens and the fact that I had experience of a successful community garden in Glyn Ceriog. I said Friends of the Earth were interested in trying to develop the land along these lines.

The council representative was keen as the land was completely neglected and also the fact of community involvement linked to Plas Newydd was a positive.

Sometime after there was another meeting specifically about the garden idea. I brought along a couple of sheets of an outline plan of what we wanted to do. Including growing organically and involving local schools etc as it developed.Though the council seemed happy with the principle, they had plans to put in a heritage bid for adjoining land and buildings, which meant no work could start on site.

At this point the whole thing got a little bogged down in bureaucracy as I think different departments needed consulting and it was clear that while it might happen we would probably be waiting for some considerable time.

In early Spring 2012, the council were again approached for an update and after some chasing up which took maybe two months, a Licence agreement was drawn up.

We had to meet the council regarding safety on site. We drew up our own site policies and a risk assessment and the council made a few safety stipulations too after the site visit. We also arranged insurance through Friends of the Earth. Work on the License was done by a chartered surveyor working for Property Services in the Council.

In late May 2012 we were finally able to go on site and start work. We have a ban on any power tools and initially the council had a no children on site policy, but as the whole structure of the garden got laid out and it became safer, we have allowed children when supervised at all times by a parent or guardian.

Generally, the Council have been very hands off about what we are doing on site. The access is completely separate from Plas Newydd and the garden is not open to the general public except when we run garden sessions.The only brief intervention was after the heavy snow when several trees came down or partially fell– we were not allowed on site until their safety had been assessed – which of course we abided by.

Advice to Others – Ten tips

• Be Persistent - It is always worth asking and being persistent. We came back to the council three times and on the third approach (a whole year after our first enquiry) we were given permission to go ahead.
• Start small. Starting with no budget has made things simpler. The garden has defined the space and the way we use it gradually over time. All you really need to get started is a space to grow and ideally someone with a little growing experience.
• Have a Core Group - Ideally set up with more than one core person. For us it made things easier by ‘piggy-backing’ onto our existing Friends of the Earth group. We have a core of four people who are involved. Two of us manage mainly the practical growing side, two the publicity – through Facebook and a website.
• Be prepared for a turnover of volunteers. Keen early volunteers have already stepped back, but others have come along. We probably now have a current core of about a dozen volunteers and from these about six come on a typical week, but keeping our original small group constant has been valuable.
• Let how you use the space help plan it. We have designed the garden as we go along. For us this has been a practical solution and allows the space to evolve according to how it is used and what materials are available. The social area is larger than we were first thinking, but we decided not to put in more beds around it having used it for events like the BBQ or the Guides visit and seen how we needed space for over 20 on occasions. The space was essential for running courses this year, for example set up 12 shave horses for the green woodworking course.
• Do consider aspect, light and water right at the beginning. The only error we made in starting to plan our very overgrown site was building four compost heaps with their back to the south-facing aspect of the garden. With regard to water we knew we had the stream, but it was a lot of work last year fetching water! This year we have bought a pump.
• Start some planting as soon as you can. We worked to clear the site through the first autumn and winter and then planted in the spring. By this time our first main section was ready and it was good to get growing. Don’t feel that everything has to be sorted before you start to grow.
• Keep initial planting simple. Don’t try and grow everything and start with easier crops. For us crops like potatoes, peas, broad beans, french beans and runner beans and courgettes were all among first choices. It is simpler to start small in what you choose to grow too. Also remember to included flowers or fruit.
• Remember to celebrate.Events are fun and allow the space you have created simply to be enjoyed and shared with others in the community.
• Communicate. Facebook has been good for us. We now have over 100 likes and it means we have quite a few community armchair gardeners too! We have also put articles in the local paper and our community magazine. Being known about will help you out practically. To date we have been donated a shed, a wheelbarrow, three compost bins, six water butts, a few tools, perennial plants, some fruit bushes, old timber and manure. All these items have been second hand, (or originally acquired for personal use), but many in great condition.

Further information