Support for allotments regeneration in Northern Ireland

ARI and FCFCG were invited to take part in the first Northern Ireland Allotments Forum in August.  Initiated by Stephen Daye of Carrickfergus Borough Council, the Forum provided an opportunity for local councils across NI to come together and exchange news and views on the provision of allotments sites.
After attending an ARI Allotments Officers' Forum in the North East on a 'fact finding' exercise earlier this year, Stephen then asked ARI and FCFCG for support.

A further event has now been organised and will take place on 15 March in Ballymena. 

In addition, ARI, working with our partner organisation FCFCG, has appointed a voluntary convenor, Austin Herron, who is now working alongside local authority officers to find out what they have planned in the way of new allotment provision. A small grant from the Enkalon Foundation has enabled us to set up the next meeting, and two of the existing Allotment Regeneration Initiative mentors (from Scotland and Wales) will also be attending, in order to pass on their first hand experience of supporting local authorities and allotment groups. 

Austin can be contacted by email here.

AOF for Scotland

ARI plans to deliver an Allotments Officers' Forum in Scotland in spring 2010. The AOF will be held in partnership with the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society (SAGS), FCFCG and Trellis. ARI will carry out a consultation, with council officers responsible for managing allotments in Scotland, in autumn 2009, to develop an AOF that reflects the needs and aspirations of allotments officers in Scotland. 

AOFs in England

After a busy programme of events where forums were rolled out in many regions during the autumn, remaining regions in England will see their AOF start up in 2010. If you are an Allotment Officer or Town or Parish Clerk and are interested in attending a forum, or if your council is interested in hosting a forum, please contact the ARI office: ari@farmgarden.org.uk

AOFs are facilitated by ARI Mentors. The events are free, informal, and content is mutually arranged between the officers themselves and ARI. Recent events have focused on allotment strategies, the use of starter packs for new plotholders, and managing health and safety on allotments which included a practical risk assessment on a site visit.

Each event aims to bring council allotment officers together to:

• Promote good practice in allotment management in the region
• Promote resources that can facilitate good practice
• Develop models of good practice from the event
• Facilitate the development of supportive networks
• Access organisations that can give help and support
• Offer constructive and productive delivery.

Here is a selection of feedback from attendees at recent AOFs:

“A very welcome initiative for someone who is new to allotments”
“Local officers can now form partnerships etc”
“It is really good to see so many authorities from the local area and exchange views and good practice”
“Thank you for inviting me, the event proved to be quite informative and raised some issues that need to be addressed”
“It was very useful to meet other allotment officers and hear their views on how to deal with various issues”
“Very useful to discuss issues with colleagues in a similar role. Great to speak to allotments holders [on site visit].
“Very informative and very interesting…every element had something interesting”
“Good networking opportunity”
“New ideas are discussed. It’s always interesting to hear from other officers, ARI, NSALG etc”
“This is an excellent format/forum to enable networking for allotments officers to engage with”
“It’s very important to have a supportive network – it makes me feel that I’m not a lone voice, that others have just as many appalling sites as I have and I am not struggling on my own. I have picked up lots of good ideas as well”
“Nice to see and understand that our issues are very much the same as others” (NW AOF)
“Great to hear other peoples issues – sharing problems – feel less overwhelmed with issues”
“Excellent networking exercise”
“Good sharing of ideas between different allotments”
“Excellent”