Blondin park allotments expansion

Local people attending the Northfield Ward Forum on 8 January agreed to spend £30,000 out of the Forum’s £40,000 budget for the current financial year on improvements to Blondin Park. £20,000 of the total is to be spent on:

  • 6 benches and 5 new waste bins
  • refurbishment of the entrance signs, gates and railings
  • shrubbery improvements

Two alternative proposals have been made for spending the remaining £10,000. These are:

  • expanding the allotment site into the grassed area of Blondin Park, or
  • improving and extending the perimeter path round the park.

At the request of the council, EFRA consulted residents of streets local to the park and EFRA members on these proposals, and had a good response to the consultation leaflet and e-mail. Responses were approximately one-third in favour and two-thirds against extension of the allotment site. Of those who were against expansion, 27 were in favour of extending the path around the park and 6 against.

EFRA passed the views gathered on to our local councillors to add to the comments they had received from others. On 2 April at the Northfields Ward Forum the councillors explained that a majority of the responses received had been against expanding the allotments. Following a long and useful discussion at the meeting it was agreed that the budgeted money will be spent on renewing and extending the path around the park.

The councillors did, however, accept that there is an unsatisfied demand for allotments and are going to look at alternative ways of meeting that demand.