Bebington allotment site set for expansion
More than 50 new allotments are set to be provided on land adjacent to the existing plots at Dawson Allotments, Bebington.
The land off Kings Lane was formerly allotment plots more than 30 years ago but fell out of use. Now, as part of the Wirral Allotment Strategy which aims to create more than 1,000 new plots across Wirral, work has begun clearing it and creating more than 40 new full-size and around 16 half-size plots to be available in the summer.
The new plots will be offered initially to those on the waiting list at Dawson Allotments. If there are still plots available after that, they will be offered to people on the wider waiting list for allotments in Wirral.
Allotment gardening provides wide ranging benefits to local communities and the environment and can make a positive change to the quality of people’s lives. In addition to the advantages of producing good quality, local, low cost, fresh food, gardeners gain the benefits of healthy exercise that is active, socially inclusive and reflects the ideals of sustainability and well-being.
Our Allotments Strategy, which was developed in partnership with Wirral’s Allotment Site Secretaries, the Allotment Tenants / Plot Holders and Allotment Site Societies, recognises the importance of allotments and commits to raising their profile and optimise their use for existing and potential tenants. It also sets a target to increase the number of available plots by 1,000 to meet the current demand.
By bringing this land which used to be allotments a long time ago back into use and effectively extending an existing allotment site, this will move us ever closer to achieving that target.
The expansion of the Dawson allotments will require the clearance of some existing trees and scrub. However, ecology surveys have been carried out and measures are in place to mitigate this loss. New boundary hedging around the site as well as woodland and heavy standard tree planting on the wider site will replace the cleared vegetation.
All replacement planting will comply with the council’s Tree, Hedgerow, and Woodland Strategy and these measures will support local wildlife, enhance biodiversity and help offset the vegetation loss from the allotment expansion.
