Agenda item - Bevendean Community Garden Proposal

Report of Director of Housing, Culture & Enterprise (copy attached).

(1)            That  a decision on the proposal to lease land in Bevendean for food growing to the Bevendean Community Garden project Group be deferred for further consideration.

(2)               That a meeting be set up with the Bevendean Community Garden Project Group to look at alternative sites before a decision is taken at a future Cabinet Member Meeting. 

12.1    The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Director of Housing, Culture & Enterprise which set out a proposal to lease land in Bevendean for food growing to the Bevendean Community Garden Project Group.  The report outlined feedback on the various consultations that had taken place, along with possible responses to them.

12.2    The Head of Customer Access and Business Improvement explained that the council wanted to support community groups to use land for growing food.  The land had been identified and there had been a number of consultation meetings and one to one meetings with residents.  The result of the consultation had been evenly split.  Residents with gardens backing onto the land were unanimously against the proposal.  Residents living further away from the land were generally in favour of the proposal.  Officers had considered the objections to the use of the land and had tried to draft the heads of terms in a way which would address issues raised during the consultations.

12.3    The Cabinet Member explained that she had attended the public meeting and had received correspondence from residents whose gardens backed on to the land.  She had visited the residents this week.  The Cabinet Member appreciated that officers had done a great deal of work on the proposal and accepted that the community as a whole supported the scheme.  However residents close to the proposed site were very opposed to the idea and she would therefore like to defer a decision in order for a meeting to be set up with the Bevendean Community Garden Project Group to investigate alternative sites.

12.4    Councillor Smart was in attendance at the meeting and expressed his disappointment that the matter was being deferred. He asked if Bevendean Primary School had been consulted.  He was informed that the school had been consulted and that they had replied in support of the proposal.

12.5    RESOLVED – Having considered the information and the reasons set out in the report, the Cabinet Member made the following decisions:

(1)            That  a decision on the proposal to lease land in Bevendean for food growing to the Bevendean Community Garden project Group be deferred for further consideration.

(2)               That a meeting be set up with the Bevendean Community Garden Project Group to look at alternative sites before a decision is taken at a future Cabinet Member Meeting.