Jeremy Corbyn has launched a new fight with the Labour government, accusing Angela Rayner of plotting the destruction of England’s remaining allotments. The former Labour leader condemned the plans, which were announced as part of the government’s ailing housebuilding drive.
In a written parliamentary answer last month, the deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary was revealed to have approved the destruction of eight allotments since the general election. They included vegetable patches in Somerset, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Nottinghamshire, West Sussex, Derbyshire and Kent. In a new intervention, Mr Corbyn said the decision will be met with “deep dismay” by communities.
The keen gardener and vegetable grower from Islington said the government’s approval to grant developers the right to concrete over the precious patches of green land makes their existence “perilous”.
“Allotments have been crucial in times of national stress. Many came out of the Second World War. Indeed, many that were established in the First World War, such as the one I enjoy in north London, have survived to this day.
“Once lost, they never return. Their loss makes us all poorer, as we become more and more detached from how food is grown and how nature interacts with us.
“Allotments provide a vital space for community cohesion, biodiversity and social solidarity. These parcels of land, that cannot be individually fenced, provide growing space for many people.
“Many people have no access to their own garden, and an allotment gives them the opportunity to grow vegetables and fruit and observe nature.”
Mr Corbyn concluded that the “battle for the grass roots is on!”, arguing the move could exacerbate the country’s mental health crisis.
A spokesman for Ms Rayner’s Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government insisted councils should only sell off allotments “where it is clearly necessary and offers value for money”.
“We know how important allotments are for communities, and that is why strict criteria is in place to protect them, as well as school playing fields.”
Sir James Cleverly, Ms Rayner’s Conservative opposite, said the move is a “kick in the teeth to local people who don’t have access to their own gardens”.
“On top of the Labour Government encouraging councils to sell off their playing fields, it yet again shows Labour’s lazy embrace of building on parks and green spaces rather than places where homes are needed and wanted.”