A Welshpool councillor has questioned the wisdom of spending thousands of pounds on upgrading the town’s allotment provision whilst the town is recovering from a tough 18 months of the pandemic.
Councillor Phil Pritchard, who is also a county councillor, said that there were other priorities at this time after it was revealed at a meeting last night that to return the allotments by the hospital to their former glory, and to create new ones at Burgess Croft could cost anything between £3,750 to £36,000.
“You can’t spend money you haven’t got,” Cllr Pritchard told us after the meeting whilst raising his concerns. “Where is this money coming from as it isn’t in the budget?”
But Town Mayor, Cllr Alison Davies, said that the council had an obligation under Welsh Government law to provide allotments if there is a request from six or more residents.
“We were considering four prices for the work and they ranged from £3,750 just over £36,000,” she said. “There is a legal obligation for Welshpool Town Council to provide allotments if the residents request them, which they do.”
Cllr Davies also explained that last night’s online meeting was stopped suddenly after two hours of debate, but it was reconvened after five minutes when members agreed to postpone the issue to next month.
What Welsh Government states:
The provision of allotments
There is a statutory duty on Local Authorities to provide allotments if there is demand. If six residents of the authority want an allotment, and there are none available, then they can request that the relevant allotment authority provide them. See the Smallholdings and Allotments Act 1908 section 23 – revised.
Allotment authorities have compulsory purchase & leasing powers to obtain land for allotments, although this is not often used. Although the legislation gives no timeframes for meeting the demand, the Welsh Government would expect to see some progression made within a year.