There’s work to do: new tenants Sally and Darren’s allotment at the start in 2017
You became secretary of Padiham and Fennyfold Allotment and Poultry Society near Burnley seven years ago. What was the state of the site at the time?
When I took over as secretary of the society it was quite daunting. Fortunately, an established member and local business person Ian Moore became chairperson, and I proposed a new position of tenant officer. Since having a good knowledge of the site was crucial, my predecessor Tony Clough was perfect for the role.
At the time we had 65 allotments, no regular contact with the council, and many overgrown allotments. The tenant list was not accurate as some had been sublet many times. Together we identified three exceptionally large allotments to focus on that had been abandoned. There was no funding so our chair was tasked with meeting the head of green spaces at the council and successfully reinstated an annual grant.
Darren and Sally’s beautiful allotment, August 2024 (and main picture)
Tony was tasked with identifying existing tenants and organising what needed to be prioritised