Petworth Allotmenteers: Group provides support for allotment holders

It is a place where they can share news of their produce, plots and to build a sense of community.

Petworth Town councillor Harsha Desai’s involvement started when the In Bloom team wanted to revamp old unused plots for Britain in Bloom in 2018/2019.

She said: “Since then, I have improved a number of unused plots at the Station Road allotment site and with the support of James Barrett, we have made the allotments a welcoming environment for those that use them.”

The group is a way for people to pull ideas together and share what they do.

There is a WhatsApp group for many of the plot holders using the Station Road site and when someone has some ideas or something they can share, it goes in there.

Harsha said: “It works really well especially during the spring/summer months. It’s also a good way to help anyone who might need something.

“It is about sharing news and having a sense of togetherness.

“Since this time Petworth Town Council took back another unused plot and turned that into a community plot for everyone who is on the allotments to use, we managed to get the plot with lots of fruit trees which means we can all share the goodies, plus its located near the entrance to the allotments from Park Rise and is an inviting place for families and friends to enjoy.

“Lots of plants have been donated along with seats to make it a place to rest and relax and highly recommend the best place to watch the sunset in Petworth.”

As yet they have not met in person but they are hoping to use the community allotment space when the weather improves.

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Harsha said: “During 2020 all the spare allotments were taken, because people were stuck indoors but the allotment gave them a sense of freedom and ability to grow their own veggies, from here we pulled people together and formed a bond/friendship and that’s how the allotment group soon was set up. When plots do become available, we have a waiting list which is used to fill them as soon as possible.”

Every time someone new joins the Station Road allotments the aim is to add them to the WhatsApp group.

Harsha said: “It would be good to grow this initiative to capture all our allotment holders via the FB page, but as always not everyone use FB, so mostly we can post about Clean up days for the town, any events which might help the town. “

Anyone not currently on the Petworth Allotmenteers WhatsApp group wish to join, please contact the town clerk on 01798 344883 or [email protected]

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