UNLOVED allotments are being given a new lease of life under Reading Borough Council’s sustainability initiative.
Residents and community groups can grow their own veg at Ardler Road or Victoria Road in Caversham, on one of 30 plots which have been cleared.
The council has also appointed an officer to manage an allotments plan, drawn up following a consultation last year.
The plan aims to increase the number of plots on the council’s 20 allotment sites. It will give tenants more control over site management. Newly formed groups have already taken on areas for communal composting, biodiversity, and wildlife projects.
Cllr Karen Rowland, council lead councillor for culture, heritage and recreation, said that allotments are invaluable in supporting physical and mental wellbeing.
She added: “This is especially important in our response to tackling the climate emergency but also in addressing the lingering effects of our post-covid recovery in protecting our physical and mental health.”
Plots are currently available at sites across the borough.
For more information, visit: www.reading.gov.uk/leisure/outdoors/allotments, or email: Allotments.Reading@reading.gov.uk