Hackney Right To Grow

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Category: Local Council

  • Space to Grow report from RHS

    Space to Grow report from RHS

    Fantastic to see the RHS “Space to grow: realising the potential of the community gardening movement” report which came out in October and how it highlights the importance of community gardening especially in urban areas” Community gardening in the UK has grown and evolved over time… Community gardening groups come in many shapes and sizes, such as allotments, health centre gardens, school gardens and even shared containers on streets and shared spaces in housing developments. Of those surveyed, 76% are located in urban areas, while the remaining 24% in rural settings.” The report notes “… the top motivation for community gardening groups is bringing the community together – in 85% of cases. This is followed by benefitting participants’ physical and mental wellbeing, encouraging enjoyment of gardening, improving biodiversity and wildlife habitats and creating cleaner, greener or more attractive surroundings.” And continues ” … community gardens are helping us tackle some of the biggest issues of our time, particularly in policy areas that have long been priorities for government: improving people’s health and wellbeing, fostering place-based community cohesion, increasing access to nature and delivering on environmental targets. The body of research pointing to the benefits and impacts of community gardening continues to grow.” I could not agree more! So whether you are engaged in delivering biodiversity gain, or improving health or diet, food kitchens, reducing food waste and composting, or working with mental wellbeing or increasing access to nature, community food growing does this for you! While doing the same for your colleagues in other departments. For Local Government the report states Recommendations for local government

    1) Create a local strategy for community gardening
    Taking a strategic approach to supporting community gardening would help local authorities and regional mayoralties to deliver against their policy priorities for local residents – including improving health and wellbeing, uniting communities, developing a strong sense of place, restoring nature and delivering on climate-related goals.

    Some local authorities have recognised the impact supporting community gardening can have in their areas and are already leading the way with their own strategic approaches to supporting local growing. Southwark Council has appointed two Community Gardening Coordinators to support a network of local community gardens; Greater Manchester Combined Authority has invested millions through its Green Spaces Fund, and East Suffolk’s ‘Field to Fork’ scheme is helping communities grow their own food.

    These forward-thinking initiatives highlight the potential of taking a strategic approach to supporting local community gardening.

    2) Use the Right to Grow to deliver against local policy priorities Incredible Edible’s Right to Grow campaign urges local authorities to make it easier to identify and access public land suitable for community growing or wildlife projects. It also calls for a simpler process for groups to secure free leases to cultivate the land, and for those groups to have the opportunity to bid if the land is put up for sale.

    Right to Grow offers a tangible opportunity for local authorities to deliver on their policy priorities in areas such as wellbeing and social cohesion by supporting local people to grow in their communities. In addition, by enabling community groups to take over underused public spaces, councils could save maintenance costs – which could be repurposed to directly support community growing.

    Recommendation:
    Local authorities should consider how creating a local strategy for community gardening, or incorporating community gardening into existing strategies, could help them deliver their policy priorities for local residents.

    Recommendation:
    Local authorities should consider how they could deliver on their policy priorities and ‘green the grey’ by adopting Right to Grow.

    The Right to Grow campaign has captured national political attention and continues to build momentum at a local level, with six local authorities adopting Right to Grow to date – including Hull and Bury. The more local authorities that adopt Right to Grow, the more barriers will be dismantled for community growers trying to access land and the more councils will be able to utilise the power of the community gardening movement to help them deliver their policy priorities.”


    https://www.rhs.org.uk/get-involved/community-gardening/spacetogrow

  • GLA Environment Committee

    GLA Environment Committee

    Essential reading re London and food growing. The report of the GLA Environment Committee

    “The ’Right to Grow’

    The Committee also heard that giving local communities the ‘right to grow’ offers a potential model for expanding access to food growing across London. It follows a similar principle to the approach taken in Southwark – by calling on local authorities to set up a simple process by which communities can apply to access suitable land for food growing.”

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  • Unlock green spaces with Hull’s new ‘Right to Grow’ initiative

    Unlock green spaces with Hull’s new ‘Right to Grow’ initiative

    Great to see Hull City Council become the first council to officially launch Right to Grow in their locality!

    “In September 2023, Hull made history as the first city in the UK to pass the ‘Right to Grow’ motion … affirming its commitment to improving sustainability.

    Following this decision, the council is now inviting residents and community groups to bring forward ideas that will turn underused council-owned land into thriving, biodiverse spaces.

    The initiative makes council land available for small-scale gardening projects, including the planting of food, plants, wildflowers, and fruit bushes, forming part of the council’s broader strategy to promote green spaces, enhance biodiversity, and support community wellbeing.

    By transforming unused council land into vibrant open spaces, the programme seeks to foster a sense of community, improve local environments, and allow residents and community groups to take ownership of their local green spaces.”

    We’re running slower than we hoped with our campaign in Hackney but with support from the Mayor of Hackney we hopw this policy will be replicate here at the end of 2025 or into 2026.

    If you have ideas where you live in Hackney for community gardens get in touch with us!

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  • Identify more sites to help London feed itself

    Identify more sites to help London feed itself

    With 99 per cent of the food and drinks consumed in London being brought in from outside the capital, the Mayor must undertake a London-wide review of food growing sites and identify new land for food growing.

    The London Assembly Environment Committee has published its report – London: A Growing City? – which outlines the key barriers to food growing in London, and what the Mayor can do to increase community food growing.

    Key recommendations in the Committee report include:

    • The Mayor should work with boroughs to undertake a London-wide review of food growing sites across the capital and identify opportunities for making new land available for Londoners to grow food, including new allotments, community farms and orchards.
       
    • Ahead of the 2026-27 budget, the Mayor should set out the steps he intends to take to make London’s food system more resilient by end of this Mayoral term. This should include supporting the Right to Grow campaign.
       
    • The Mayor should convene stakeholders across London to agree actions to reduce barriers for ‘Black, Brown, and minority-led’ food growing projects.
  • Southwark Council allows ‘right to grow’ on unused council land in London first

    Southwark Council allows ‘right to grow’ on unused council land in London first

    Southwark’s decision is a recognition of the significant role urban food growing plays in providing habitat for nature, improving wellbeing and social connections and improving access to fresh fruit and veg in a cost-of-living crisis. It’s a bold step forward and reflects Southwark council’s commitment to future-proofing resident’s access to land.

    What is the Right to Grow?

    The Right to Grow is a piece of legislation developed by Incredible Edible that is being made available to councils to adopt and adapt to their local circumstances.

    The Right to Grow requires local authorities to maintain a free, accessible map of all public land that is suitable for community cultivation or wildlife projects. And to make it straight-forward for community groups to secure free leases and allow those groups to bid for the land should the authority decide to sell it.

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