20 Dec 2023
St Albans’ pioneering guerrilla gardener has welcomed a new Green Party initiative encouraging residents to grow food and flowers on disused scraps of land around the district.
Cllr Juliet Voisey of St Peter’s ward introduced the proposal to a Full Council meeting earlier this month, where it was unanimously approved.
The proposal means SADC will look at identifying suitable patches of land for community cultivation, and will consider whether community food and flower beds could be supported on sites awaiting development.
It follows the success of two initiatives instigated by greenfingered couple Erica and Philip Lynwood on land near Keyfield Terrace in Cottonmill, where residents have reported a lift in mood whenever they walk past the transformed flower bed.
Cllr Voisey said: “Residents are taking it upon themselves to grow on land as they are frustrated with progress from the council – this scheme will allow a way forward. I am working with the national team at Incredible Edible to understand the finer details and report back to officers. There are obstacles but we should be proactive in working to achieve more sites.”
Erica Lynwood welcomed the scheme: “I wholeheartedly support this initiative, and am thrilled that Guerrilla 1 (Keyfield Terrace) has in some small way helped people see what can be achieved with these little scraps of land. Connecting with nature is proven to improve physical and mental health, and creating even tiny gardens can have an amazing effect on someone’s wellbeing.
“Incredible Edible is a great idea, there are hundreds of people on the waiting list for an allotment (including me), so there’s a definite need, but it’s a far more involved project, so important for the council to really get behind.
“Edible plants need far more attention and resources in the form of water, not to mention dealing with green waste. I grew a small amount of veg at [their previous home in] Telford Court, but even there watering was an issue as we lived on floor 9. All water had to be carried down in the lift because there’s no outside tap.
“From the perspective of the council guerrilla gardens are fantastic because they cost them virtually nothing, the onus is on whoever takes the project on to develop and fund it. Pollinator highways are another cheap and easy thing to achieve, lovely as they are, wildflower meadows are tricky to achieve on a domestic scale, but allowing daisies and clover to flower in your lawn requires much less effort and still keeps the bees happy. I really hope that the Incredible Edible idea takes off, and am delighted that the council is backing it, I’m looking forward to being told I’ll have somewhere to plant my spuds!”
SADC’s climate strategy lists nature and sustainable food as one of the key areas of focus. Greens argue that such initiatives also promote wellbeing and nurture communities.
Cllr Voisey has already commissioned a survey of the Grow Sopwell community which showed over 80% strongly agree that they feel healthier and happier having access to a community garden area.
The local group Wilderhood Watch also reports a 25% increase in street requests for creating pollinator highways.
Cllr Voisey added: “”The Right To Grow Scheme is an opportunity for us to build on the community food growing and wildlife garden spaces that residents have already created. It will enable residents to access land close to them to grow their own food. And it will support residents who want to transform disused land on their doorstep.”
A new guerrilla garden is currently being developed at the corner of Alma Road and London Road.
