Allotments Campaign, Kirkcaldy

In response to:Too Few Allotments

2008-06-10T21:53:55+02:00

Very similar problem to Douglas in that the Dysart site and most Kirkcaldy sites would mean a drive of over 7 or 8 miles from Burntisland. I would be doing more damage to the environment and with two young boys, it makes sense to try and find a plot within walking distance or a short bus ride. I know that there are quite a few families here in Burntisland with smallish gardens who would be keen to share an allotment site to grow their own veg and get their kids interested in gardening. The council seems to earmark any open space for developers without providing a communit space for the growing populations to use. There are sites near along the train line, near the new housing development and even near the Toll Centre which remain largely unused.

In response to:Too Few Allotments

2008-03-13T18:25:47+01:00

Have we progressed yet?

At the current time there are 66 people on Boreland (Kirkcaldy) Allotment waiting list and all available plots and half-plots have been taken.

There is a move by the Council to develop a new allotment site but this is dependent on the Kirkcaldy and Mid-Fife local plan which sets out the development of this area over the next 10 years. I hope that once a site has been identified its development can go ahead immediately.

Kirkcaldy Allotments Group would like to see the old nurseries at Ravenscraig Park converted to an allotment site but there are plans to sell the land and build houses there even although it is Common Good Land. A petition against a housing development at Ravenscraig has been forwarded to the Scottish Parliament by Kirkcaldy Civic Society and I believe that this group would prefer allotments here rather than houses.

Allotments foster a great community spirit.
It's been calculated that twenty people on average benefit from each allotment plot i.e. families, friends and neighbours - and plots can be used to benefit a wide range of people from the physically and mentally fit to those who have physical and mental health problems as well as various community and school groups.
Let's have more allotments in Kirkcaldy and soon!!

In response to:Too Few Allotments

2007-09-23T14:53:03+02:00

I was offered an Allotment at the Boreland Dysart on 20-09-2007, a half plot No4.
After careful consideration, on whether to accept the plot or not? I have decided to decline the councils offer. And the reason being it's to far away for me, it is 9 miles in distance. And because of this I would be doing more damage to the environment than good, by way of the use of a car to get there and back, and to attend once a day to look after the plot, it would mean that I would be doing 126 miles per week in a car, adding pollution to the atmosphere, not very Green is it?

What is needed is an Allotment area in my home village of Kinglassie where one could walk or even cycle, resulting in zero pollution.

I have written to Fife council on this matter, and requested they provide the piece of land that used to be the Kinglassie School Gardens, as they made it a rural area over two decades ago, and know one ever uses it. The seats are filthy further proof no one uses it, and it also costs the tax-payer money for the maintenance of the grounds when in fact they could generate an income from it.

In response to:Too Few Allotments

2007-08-18T21:57:48+02:00

Apologies. In the newsletter sent out to members of Kirkcaldy allotments group the email address I gave ended in .com - it should have been .co.uk.

In response to:Too Few Allotments

2007-08-18T21:52:50+02:00

I would like to add comment that in Kinglassie when I went to primary school I was introduced to gardening, in which interest is still with me, and over two decades ago Fife council done away with the school gardens, without any thought that the people may wish to have an allotment scheme there, considering it was cultivated and fertile land, it would only have needed fencing on the west side as the rest is all walled, and yet they made it with shrubs and seats, and being in this village for 46yrs now have never once seen any person using the area. And makes it an expensive area that is being needlessly having Tax-Payers money spent on it to maintain the grass cutting shrub and gardening tidy work done on an annual basis by Fife council, as my photo's attached show the state of the seat in there no one in there right mind would sit on such filthy seats, also pictures show my postage stamp rear garden that the council allocated this house when built in no way is it adequate for the growing of vegetables in hence. An allotment scheme would be very beneficial to me and others from the village of Kinglassie, and it could not be any better than if it was in my village, for me to be in Kirkcaldy it would probably result in my vegetables and fruit growing in an allotment at Kirkcaldy would be costing me ten times the cost of purchasing Organic vegetables and fruit at today's shop prices, on fuel costs travelling to Kirkcaldy to an allotment there, also the pollution and contribution to Global warning by carbon monoxide fumes from the car I would have to use to get there and back.

Fife council should give this land to the village people for Allotments, remove shrubs trees and erect a fence on west side with lockable gate and plough up, add a couple of water points.

In all would probably only cost only the equivalent of two years maintenance money they are spending currently, to do this in which they could relieve themselves of further expenditure and waisting of Tax-Payers money, like myself and family whom all pay Taxes for waisted resources such as mentioned above.

I for one would like to see this happen, and also to obtain an allotment at the proposed site if this was turned into an eventuality.

I hope your committee can lodge an appeal on my and the Kinglassie peoples behalf?

In response to:Too Few Allotments

2007-08-05T13:32:55+02:00

What you are sing is they are not allotments but tofewments