Colwall Allotments

Colwall Allotments are located in Colwall Village Garden in Old Church Road, opposite Old Orchard Lane. They have lovely views to the Malvern Hills and are surrounded by a newly planted traditional orchard.

There are 58 plots in a variety of sizes with many around 60 square metres, or a quarter of the standard allotment size. They are gardened on organic principles.

Eligibility

Tenants must be a minimum of 18 years old and a resident in the Parish of Colwall. Plots may be offered to residents in other parishes at the discretion of COG but such allocations will normally be limited to no more than 10% of the Allotment Gardens available.

Group tenancies

An informal association of up to 6 people or a registered legal entity may take on a joint tenancy. Joint tenants, and members of an informal association are all jointly responsible for the annual rent and must all sign the Tenancy Agreement. A representative of a legal entity may sign the Tenancy Agreement on behalf of the group and either provide evidence of liability insurance or ensure all allotment gardeners are registered as members of the NSALG. In the event of members leaving an informal association the remaining members of the group will be responsible for payment of rents and fees.

Equal opportunity and accessibility

Where reasonably practical The Landlord will help Tenants to adapt an Allotment Garden to make it accessible according to their individual needs. 

The Allotment Garden fee may, at the discretion of The Landlord, be reduced for those demonstrating financial difficulties, at the time they are offered a tenancy Agreement or a Tenancy renewal. This will be dealt with in confidence.

Waiting lists

A waiting list for Allotment Gardens will be administered by The Landlord.

If an applicant on the waiting list is offered an Allotment Garden but does not respond to this offer within 14 days, the Allotment Garden will be offered to the next applicant on the list.

If an applicant is offered an Allotment Garden but cannot take up that offer because the Allotment Garden is the wrong size, or for other reasons, they may request a deferment and the Allotment Garden will then be offered to the next applicant on the list. A deferment can take place twice and on the third occasion, if the Allotment Garden offered is not accepted the applicant will be removed from the list, and if requested, added to the bottom of the waiting list.

Parking

There is limited parking and we encourage tenants not to drive to the site if possible, and we have bicycle stands available.

The Allotment Community

Colwall Village Garden is a sociable and family-friendly place and relies on volunteers and communal spirit to get things done. Allotment tenants are a good mix of age and experience and knowledge is shared generously. 

Everyone is encouraged to be part of the allotment site community, lending the skills and support that they can to maintain and improve the site. 

Volunteer mornings are held every third Sunday of the month between 10am and 1pm and we spend that time collectively maintaining the Colwall Village Garden site for the benefit of users and visitors alike.

Over the years Colwall Orchard Group has demonstrated its partnership working with the more aesthetic and refined world of the arts. Examples are the annual Wassail drawing on folk songs with inventive percussion playing, the woven ‘hands aloft’ statue greeting visitors to the site, the willow tunnel loved by children, the varied scarecrows which featured in the village trail and, over the last few years, a venue for H.Art.

Keen readers of the arts columns in the press or media may have noted in the summer that the Glasgow Centre for the Contemporary Arts hosted an exhibition from July to September called ‘We are compost / composting the We’ which in their words sought ‘to follow the cyclical processes of composting – first the knowledge, then the materials and finally the histories, to ask what new kinds of transformation are possible when we read, share, shred, till, test, plant, and grow collectively with the land and the soil.’

Three works featured in the exhibition with titles such as Absoprtion, Gaia Glossary and Eating the Ancestors. The explanations of their artistic objectives were somewhat above the intellectual understanding of the author of this article. However one feature of the exhibition was that visitors were able to take away a free small bag of compost to use in their domestic and community involvements. 

What a good idea to spread the value of composting.