Woman’s shock as her allotment is earmarked for housing

A woman in Sea Mills has spoken after land at the bottom of her garden has been earmarked for housing.

The space, which is currently used as an allotment, is one of a number of the area’s “secret” enclosed spaces.

But the land, which Annette Whiting has rented from Bristol City Council for 40 years and shares with her neighbours, is now under threat.

A large wall to one side of the space separates the allotments and an old training centre. This whole site is being disposed of under council policy to make land developers don’t want available to community-led housing groups.

Bristol-wide, 11 such sites have been made available under the scheme. Five sites are so far in the process of development and could deliver upwards of 50 homes.

The Sea Mills site includes two patches of land either side of The Crescent, the training centre, allotment space and a small car park.

The developer for the site is Tiny House Community Bristol (THCB). They hope to retrofit the existing training centre buildings as homes. They also want to build further “‘tiny houses” on the remaining land, which Annette fears will include her allotment.

The two potential building sites either side of The Crescent, including the training centre, allotments and a small car park – photo: Google

Annette was shocked when she first learnt of the plans last spring via the local newsletter. “Community Voice came through our letterbox, I saw the article [about the housing development] and thought, that’s our land,” she says.

THCB has recently begun engaging with the local community and holding open meetings. Annette has been to both the community meetings so far and has been assured by THCB that they won’t build on her allotment and that she can continue to rent it from them.

But nothing is yet in writing and without knowing who her new neighbours will be, she says she is anxious and has considered moving.

The allotment is like a sanctuary to her and she’s worried that it will be ruined. She adds: “When my mum was in a nursing home it was my escape from worry, it’s somewhere you can lose yourself and not think about anything else.”

But she knows people who have had problems finding affordable housing and she’s sympathetic: “I can see it makes sense, but we don’t like change.”

……………………………………..

Read more: The cohousing projects that are reducing social isolation in Bristol

……………………………………..

Of the 12 -15 dwellings THCB aim to create, four will be owned and the rest put out to rent. The space will be car-free and as close to zero waste as possible.

They will be affordable eco-housing in an area currently dominated by three-bedroom family homes which are becoming increasingly unaffordable.

Rachel Butler, founder and director of THCB told a community meeting earlier in the year that it was, “a great opportunity for ordinary people to come together to find solutions to the housing crisis for themselves.” She also said that having not done this before, the group were “learning as we go.”

Annette’s allotment presents a challenge for a group whose aims include collaborating with and becoming part of the local community. They have previously said they were unaware that part of the land they had been offered was rented to allotment holders or that Annette had previously offered to purchase her plot.

Tiny Homes have not responded to requests to comment, however Rachel Butler has told a public meeting in Sea Mills: “We don’t want to take anything away from anybody, our problem is that no one in Sea Mills was aware that land disposal was happening; we are now trying to build relationships and find a way forward.”

The smaller site, the training centre’s disused car park – photo: Mary Milton

Bristol City Council say that the allotment holders were informed prior to the advertising of the land for community development. They also say that the developer was made aware of the presence of the allotment holders.

A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said: “We are encouraging the developer to engage with the allotment licence holders and factor the allotments into their plans and we understand that they have offered to make arrangements for the licence holders to continue to have the use of the garden plots after the development is completed.

“The allotments remain in use currently and we will continue to work with the Sea Mills community led housing group to find a solution that meets all parties’ needs.”

Mary Milton is reporting on Sea Mills as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media

Main photo: Mary Milton

Read more: Woman ‘disgusted’ that new homes overlook her garden

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: