Allotments and Community Gardens gain small scale agricultural planning rights to build sheds and greenhouses.
The Welsh Government has published important agricultural planning rights for allotment holders and community growers in Wales. These important rights confirm community growing as agriculture and allow them to build a small shed and/ or a greenhouse depending on the size of the growing space, without needing to apply for planning permission.
Lucie Taylor the Community Land Advisory Service Coordinator for Wales stated:
“The surge in demand to ‘grow your own’ and big increases in the numbers of community growing spaces across Wales, has meant this progression in legislation is welcome news for the thousands of community growers and allotment holders across Wales. Even though the rights only allow for small sheds and greenhouses, these new rights also confirm allotment holders and community growers to be carrying out an agricultural use of land which some local authorities have questioned in the past”.
To accompany this, Social Farms & Gardens has been working with Welsh Government on updating Guidance for Allotments and Community Led Gardening Projects which will be released later this year. With the Welsh Government wanting to create one of the most environmentally and socially responsible supply chains in the world community food growing activities are now well on their way to contributing to this aim.