‘Pricing us off’

I have been on my plot for about 10 years.

My rental then was about £7 per annum – for the year 2013 it will be about £60 per annum. This may not sound a lot, but we also have seeds, fertilisers and tools to take into account.

Most of the allotment holders are pensioners and are getting healthy exercise, which helps keep us fit. Perhaps Mr Scrivener would prefer us to sit in front of the television, vegetating, becoming unfit and putting more of a burden on the NHS.

I have lived in Littlehampton for more than 70 years and have seen the demise of allotments. For instance, the Highfield estate, opposite the Worthing Road site, was all allotments, also the land between Church Street and East Street, all lost to housing development.

It would appear Mr Scrivener would like this site to have the same fate, by pricing us off. I am aware that, when situations like this arise, the loss of natural habitat always arises.

There is a good breeding colony of lizards at our allotment – a protected species, as is the slow work.

Although I have seen no snakes in grass, a pigmy shrew made its home in my greenhouse, a rodent I had never seen before. This is not to mention the less common birds and insects that have made their homes on this site, although not everyone is interested in the abundance of wildlife in our area.

I am now looking forward to the next council elections, when I will go against all my principles and do my best to have an elected Labour council, who, when they were last in office, seemed to put the needs of our town and residents before bricks and mortar.

Brian Lacy

Cornfield Close

Littlehampton