Gardening has a real community feel at allotments
It's one of those glorious summer mornings that make you feel glad to be alive and in a little corner of West Ashling, life is literally, flourishing.
There is the faint, yet satisfying whiff of fresh soggy compost; birds twitter while hens peck at the grass enthusiastically and a sleepy spotted pig spreads out contentedly to sun himself.
As you look down from the top of a slight slope you can see row upon pleasing row of vegetables, while fluorescent marigolds, cunningly placed, stop the slugs banqueting.
Surveying this feast of a field you would never believe that just nine months ago it was hard scrub.
And neither would Amanda Brooks and her husband Richard. When they purchased the 12 acres and gave part of the site away to the community for allotments, little did they realise how the idea would grow.
Now, if you pop into Newells Lane you will hear folks happily swapping recipes for elderflower cordial, chatting over their spades and exchanging notes on spuds while last month the hottest topic in the village was two marrows which went missing.
After advertising on River Cottage's Landshare website, Amanda soon had a flood of interest.
The parish council got wind and helped spread the word and soon all 22 plots were snapped up, such is the fervent interest in growing your own.
And with three-year waiting lists from the local authority, people with land to spare are being sought far and wide to help meet people's burgeoning urge to dig in and connect with the earth.
The couple always liked the idea of gardening but with children and running their own business, time is a precious commodity, but the enjoyment – not forgetting the daily produce – they receive from landsharing is the next best thing.
"When we brought the land, I suddenly thought 'what on earth are we going to do with 12 acres?', says Amanda, pictured below, who can't wait to show off the site.
"I was watching River Cottage and there was a mention of landshare, and I thought, why not?
"I gave away part of the land for free, there is no rent or anything; the only thing I take is some produce – we've even had to buy a chest freezer to fit it all in.
"There is such a lovely atmosphere; the people there are such a good bunch. We held a barbecue for everyone recently and people wave to each other and discuss fencing down at the pub.
"People feel part of the community. I would say we have met more people in the last six months than in the entire three years we've been here. I even go to parish council meetings now – you hear some very interesting things!"
Involved in the buying and selling of property, Richard was initially, and understandably, sceptical about the idea of giving something away, but he is now as animated as Amanda.
"It's nice to see the enjoyment on other people's faces and seeing what they are getting from it," he says.
"We really didn't know what to expect when we put the advert out but it's nice to give something back and it's nice to see the land being used in a really positive way," says Amanda.
The hard work started in February, with lots of back breaking digging to prepare the ground. People can also have a share in some hens, receiving eggs in return for looking after them. In May the pigs arrived and there is even talk of a getting a couple of cows and creating a community farm.
Amanda was also able to get funding from Chichester District Council to put in a water supply, with all the allotment holders pitching in to lay it as well as install fencing for the animals.
The scheme has certainly breathed new life into the area and the best thing is that it's people from the village who are benefiting.
With trowel in hand, Sadie Middleton is positively glowing from her morning spent on her patch. She got one of the last plots, and derives enormous satisfaction from it.
"I was really excited, I definitely wouldn't be able to do this in my own garden.
"It's lovely because my dad always used to grow his own veg when I was a child and now it's great because my children have their own part where they are growing marigolds, and pumpkins and strawberries and they enjoy coming here and doing the watering.
"It was nice because it was a blank canvas when we started and we are all sort of experimenting, we don't know what will grow and, and the hard work is definitely paying off."
With his runner beans flowering and his pumpkins well on their way, Guy Stevens is also a very proud man. "One of the great things is that I've met so many nice people here, it's so social and everyone helps each other.
"One of my favourite things is standing at the top and looking down at all the allotments, it's wonderful. I come up most days and a lot of people just like to come and sit. It's lovely in the evenings and it beats sitting in a pub!"
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Weather for Chichester
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South west
