Agenda item

Considered

The report from Angela Crossland (Public Health) which reviews the Right to Grow motion proposed at Full Council in May 2024, with the aim of supporting the committee to consider its recommendation to Full Council in November 2024.

Councillor Gostlow was invited to speak to the Motion which she had put forward to Full Council in May 2024.  The committee were provided with two examples of projects in Councillor Gostlow’s area where land had ultimately been granted to local groups, resulting in increased biodiversity in addition to connecting residents in a way which increased wellbeing and connectivity.

The Chair highlighted that another councillor had asked for a protocol to be developed around this at the council, prior to the Motion being put forward, but acknowledged that the Motion goes further.  The Chair also highlighted for the committee that in view of the significant funding gap being faced by the council, there is a concern among the officer team around staffing resources being potentially diverted to develop an approach on Right to Grow at a time when key services need to be protected such as SEND provision.

Gary Fielding wished to note that in the near term, the particular concern is around property officers needing to produce a register of all such land available for community use.  The council is keen to look at regeneration and reducing its footprint where possible so where community groups come forward and have identified land then in principle there would be no objection to assisting them but Gary expressed concerns around a broader mapping exercise being undertaken in view of resources.  Gary suggested that any support would need to be relatively light-touch at this stage until the council has been given more time to develop a suitable approach.  As such, the committee is being asked to recommend to Full Council that the Motion is not upheld as written due to the implications for council priorities and resources but that additional time is given to officers to develop a responsive approach within the context of current capacity and cross-cutting strategic priorities.

Members discussed the positive benefits of supporting such projects and identified that are a range of ways in which communities could work with land owners to identify what land might be available as well as council land, for example working with parish or town councils.  The committee considered whether the community anchors could therefore support this.  It was considered that the financial benefit to the council in pursuing this type of work was very small and that it should be seen as having social value but that the support provided needed to be proportionate at the current time.  It was also highlighted that it was also important to understand whether a piece of land is safe to grow food on.

A Member raised that a piece of council-owned land had been identified by a local community three years ago but that there had been little engagement from officers in that time, which had been a source of frustration.

Angela Crossland outlined that approaches to working with communities in this way are under development and are part of a wider food systems agenda for the council but highlighted that significant processes need to be done to ensure this is effected properly and to ensure that approaches are consistent.  Angela highlighted that there may be more capacity to look at this further next year.

The committee discussed that where new housing estates are being developed, garden spaces are often not large enough for households to grow their own food and there is also no space provided for allotments.  It was considered that as part of the developing Local Plan, the council could consider provision of allotment land as part of new housing developments.  A further recommendation was therefore agreed to be added to the existing officers recommendations going to Full Council on this basis, with the full recommendations as follows:

• The Committee recommends to Full Council that the Motion as written is not upheld due to the implications of the approach on council priorities and resources.

• The Committee recommends that Full Council agree to give additional time to officers to develop a responsive approach to community grow within the context of current capacity and cross-cutting strategic priorities.

·       The Committee recommends that consideration for the provision of allotment land as part of new housing developments should be a policy provision within the new Local Plan.

A majority vote was passed via a show of hands.

Resolved

That the committee:

(a) notes the feedback report provided on the ‘Right to Grow’ Notice of Motion;

(b) agrees to recommend to Full Council the following:

(i) The Committee recommends to Full Council that the Motion as written is not upheld due to the implications of the approach on council priorities and resources.

(ii) The Committee recommends that Full Council agree to give additional time to officers to develop a responsive approach to community grow within the context of current capacity and cross-cutting strategic priorities.

(iii) The Committee recommends that consideration for the provision of allotment land as part of new housing developments should be a policy provision within the new Local Plan.