Latest news with #AllotmentAct1925
Daily Mail
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
It's marrow wars! Jeremy Corbyn battles Angela Rayner over Labour's sell-off of England's allotments
has hit out at Angela Rayner for allowing cash-strapped local councils to sell off allotments. The former Labour leader accused the Deputy Prime Minister of putting 'the nail in the coffin' for the 'precious' community spaces. Mr Corbyn, the MP for Islington North who has launched a new left-wing party to rival Labour, is a keen gardener and uses an allotment near his north London home. He has gone to war with Ms Rayner after it was revealed the Deputy PM had agreed for eight allotment sites across England to be sold since last year's general election. The veteran politician lashed out at Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary, for approving the slew of allotment sales. So-called 'statutory' allotment sites owned by local councils are protected from development or sale under the Allotment Act 1925, except with ministerial sign-off. In an article for The Telegraph, Mr Corbyn - who has previously descibed marrows as his favourite vegetable - wrote: 'News that Angela Rayner may approve allotment sales will fill many with deep dismay. 'Allotments have always been under threat from developers. Now, that threat seems to have Government backing, which makes the future of these precious spaces even more perilous.' Mr Corbyn said the popularity of allotments had 'grown out of opposition to enclosures and the privatisation of common land' in previous centuries. He also noted how there are 'at least 100,000 people' on waiting lists for allotments across the country. 'Once lost, they never return,' he added. 'Their loss makes us all poorer, as we become more and more detached from how food is grown and how nature interacts with us. 'Allotments provide a vital space for community cohesion, biodiversity and social solidarity. 'These parcels of land, that cannot be individually fenced, provide growing space for many people. 'Many people have no access to their own garden, and an allotment gives them the opportunity to grow vegetables and fruit and observe nature. 'Allotments are particularly important for people who experience stress and mental health problems.' Mr Corbyn acknowledged that 'social housing is desperately needed' as Ms Rayner attempts to fulfil Labour's pledge to build 1.5million new homes within five years. But he warned: 'We need not sacrifice these vital green spaces to build it. 'Is this Government going to put the nail in the coffin of the joy of digging ground for potatoes on a cold, wet February Sunday afternoon? The battle for the grass roots is on!' Mr Corbyn's attack on the Government comes after his recent launch of a new party, temporarily known as 'Your Party', with fellow ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana. Ms Rayner was recently revealed to have approved the sale of allotments in Somerset, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Nottinghamshire, West Sussex, Derbyshire, and Kent. In Storrington, West Sussex, there are plans to build 78 new houses on a former allotment site. A spokesman for the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said that councils should only sell off allotments 'where it is clearly necessary and offers value for money'. He added: 'We know how important allotments are for communities, and that is why strict criteria is in place to protect them, as well as school playing fields.'
BBC News
05-08-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Jeremy Corbyn attacks Angela Rayner for selling off allotments
Jeremy Corbyn has attacked his former Labour colleague Angela Rayner for signing off the sale of eight allotments since the general UK's 330,000 allotments, are small, rented plots of land where residents can grow their own fruit and vegetables, and are protected from development or sale under the Allotment Act 1925, except with ministerial sign-off.A government spokesperson said strict criteria were in place for allotment sales, which should only be made where they are "clearly necessary".Writing in the Telegraph, keen allotmenteer Corbyn extolled the "joy of digging ground for potatoes" and warned that sales made "the future of these precious spaces even more perilous". The former Labour party leader, who has recently launched an as-yet-unnamed rival party, has regularly talked about his love of growing crops at his north London plot, where his favourite vegetable is the his letter to the Telegraph, the Islington North MP sets out the history behind the allotment, which started when landowners enclosed common land in the Middle right to access common land for growing and grazing was a key demand of the Diggers during the English Civil War, Corbyn says, claiming the Enclosure Acts were "one of the most grotesque abuses of power by Parliament".Losing access to land led to the rural poor "facing starvation" and being "forced to migrate to industrial cities" like Birmingham, he writes, adding "allotments, then, grew out of opposition to enclosures and the privatisation of common land".Figures from the National Allotment Association suggests allotments are still vital for many people today, with one-in-eight of the UK population having no access to a garden, rising to one-in-five in 100,000 are currently on waiting lists for allotments, some waiting decades for a decision to give permission for eight allotments to be sold by councils was revealed in a parliamentary answer last month, including sites in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Kent, Hertfordshire and West plan to build new homes on sites that are currently community allotments in Derbyshire, Somerset and West Sussex."Of course, social housing is desperately needed, but we need not sacrifice these vital green spaces to build it," says Corbyn in his letter. "We can build on ex-industrial land and take over empty properties. Even then, we should ensure social housing is accompanied by community gardens and adequate growing space."Is this government going to put the nail in the coffin of the joy of digging ground for potatoes on a cold, wet February Sunday afternoon? "The battle for the grass roots is on!"Angela Rayner's Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has been contacted for information on how many allotments have been disposed of in previous years.A spokesman said that councils should only sell off allotments "where it is clearly necessary and offers value for money".He added: "We know how important allotments are for communities, and that is why strict criteria is in place to protect them, as well as school playing fields."But the Conservatives said the policy was "a kick in the teeth to local people who don't have access to their own gardens" and called for the government to do more to protect green spaces. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
