Concerns raised over future of Downham Market allotment locations

An allotment holder has urged councillors to provide clarity on the future for gardeners in a West Norfolk town.

Robert Burrell, a member of the public who said he lives “a stone’s throw” from the town hall, spoke on the issue at Downham Town Council’s full meeting last Tuesday.

He said he did not represent the town’s allotment association, and was merely raising his concerns as an individual holder.

He put two main questions to councillors – ‘Could the council not work to extend the allotment lease?’ and ‘Where are you evicting us to and when?’

Mr Burrell said he knows he cannot do “anything about the juggernaut of bureaucracy”, but wants certainty over the future for allotment holders in Downham.

He is frustrated by a lack of clarity as question marks loom over the lease for allotment holders, although he did say: “The town clerk (Claire Dornan) has been working hard to find an alternative site, and I understand that she has spoken to organisations.

“But we remain unable to find another site.”

Mr Burrell added that he is disappointed the council could not see the benefits that socially isolated children could reap from watching fruit and vegetables grow.

The council informed him that it would look further into the issue.