Allotments vandalised

12:10pm Wednesday 27th August 2008

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BROKEN glass, upturned sheds and piles of rubbish are as much a feature of Swindon allotments as rows of fresh furit and veg.

Angry allotment holders say they are fed up with seeing abandoned TVs, microwaves and shopping trolleys springing up overnight or arriving at their plots to find them trashed by yobs.

Those who tend the allotments say that the sight of overgrown plots is encouraging outsiders to disrespect the area.

The Shrivenham Road site has become a regular target for yobs – who struck again on Thursday night.

Ten plots were affected and the damage included three overturned sheds, smashed greenhouse windows and ripped up plants.

George Pollock, 83, from Walcot, has seen his allotment attacked three times by vandals in the last year.

On Thursday a small shed on his plot was up ended and his greenhouse was set on fire.

Mr Pollock, who spends five or six hours a day tending his plot, said he seriously considered giving up after the latest attack.

He said: “It’s just depressing. You put your heart and soul into it and then someone comes along and smashes it up.

“Most of us here are retired and we put a lot of effort into our allotments.

“But when something like this happens you think what’s the point?

“What makes me angry though is that the gate at the entrance to the site is held up with a bit of rope.”

Mr Pollock went to the council after the most recent attack and demanded that something be done to make access to the site less easy.

But he says he has seen no action so far.

George Dodson, 78, from Stratton said that in his view the issue was not just about lack of security but of neglect.

He said: “I’ve been on this site for over 20 years and I have gradually seen it get worse and worse.

“When I look around at some of these plots which are badly overgrown and untidy. I really despair.

“How can we attract younger people to take up an allotment when they’re in that sort of state?

“What would it take for the council to come up here and tidy them up a bit?

“They’ll find money for a new tennis court or a sports centre but we always seem to be at the back of the queue.

“That’s why you get people coming here and dumping their rubbish.

“You don’t get anything like that at the sites owned by the parish councils because they care about their sites.

“Go to the site in Stratton and you’ll see the difference, and it’s nothing to do with security. It’s because they care about their allotments.”

‘We are doing our best’

A SPOKESMAN for Swindon Council said: “We know that there are a number of plots at Shrivenham Road which have not been tended by the holders, and we are in the process of serving notices to quit to those tenants.

“We can understand the frustration of other tenants.

“But we have to follow a set process before we can let these allotments to new people and it takes time.

“Once the overgrown plots have been cleared we will be making them into half plots to make them more manageable, as full-size allotments can be a lot of work, and this is often the reason why some tenants lose interest.

“We have had problems in the past when allotment holders have not locked the gate behind them.

“But we will inspect it within the next day and if it’s been damaged then it will be fixed.

“It’s unfortunately impossible to make sites completely vandal-proof.

“But we are doing what we can to help.

“We have 25 sites altogether in the borough and there is a programme of improvements scheduled for the next year.”