'Do not let Peterborough lose one of its jewels in the crown' urges Green Backyard Chair
The Green Backyard in Fletton is currently at risk of being redeveloped into new homes
The Chair of Peterborough’s Green Backyard has urged the city council to not allow the city to lose one of the jewels in its crown.
The community garden, located in Fletton, is currently at risk of being turned into 48 new homes after the site was listed for redevelopment in the latest draft local plan for the city.
The local plan sets out how the city will grow and change over the next 20 years and is currently out for public consultation until the end of May. After the period, all comments will be reviewed to inform changes to the draft ahead of further consultations and being presented to central government.
If present plans made it all the way through to final implementation, the Green Backyard would be forced to leave its site to make way for the housing development if a scheme was to be brought forward.
The registered charity has transformed what was previously a wasteland, after being handed the project by the council in 2008, by its founders Renny and Sophie Antonelli and now with the help of a dedicated board of volunteers; all of which were left shocked at plans which saw the site named in the local plan.
Chair Jay Gearing explained: “It was an absolute shock to all of us when we found out about the risk. We hadn’t heard any rumours or got any inklings that this was coming in the Local Plan.
"In 2008, the founders were invited to the site specifically by the council to do a project there. It probably turned out better than they could have hoped, it got such a huge following and so much good work was done there and that work still continues today.
"There are plenty of unused pieces of land around that the council should not need to use one of the last truly independent places we have in the city. There are businesses running on the site that would not be able to survive on the high street.”
This is not the first time the Green Backyard has been threatened by redevelopment although volunteers were able to win a similar battle for survival in 2017 and secure a new lease. Now though, the lease is ticking down and the charity is seeking to secure a new one as it is currently unable to secure capital funding for projects under the current circumstances.
The Green Backyard, as well as being a community garden, also hosts a number of projects including community groups, Back to Nature- a children’s group, Where the Wild Ones Learn forest school, Project Abundance- a growing project, recycling and eco-friendly project Refill revolution, the Community Bike Workshop, men’s group and social project Men’s Shed Association and the site is also used weekly by Community Payback for those completing community service.
The charity has rallied a large amount of support behind its cause and held a community day on Saturday that was attended by over 600 people, here the work of the Green Backyard was showcased to residents across the city and many were educated on the charity’s plight.
If the worst case scenario were to be realised and the Green Backyard was asked to move, Mr Gearing has insisted that the charity as a whole could be at risk.
He said: “We haven’t even thought about or had any conversations about being moved to a different site. It has been tried before we signed the lease in 2017 but it is impractical for lots of reasons. We serve a lot of the disabled community and having access and good transport links to the city centre is a priority for us. That is true also for people who don’t drive. Everything that is established and grown there is here. We have got accessible pathways, toilets installed etc, we can’t just literally restart. We’re a charity, we haven’t got money coming out of our ears. To relocate could be the death knell for us.
“I really do understand the council are pressed for money but you can’t continue selling assets until you have none left because then what do you do? You can’t asset strip the city and be left with nothing. There is plenty of land out there to hit housing quotas. It does not have to come at the expense of one of the jewels in the crown of the city.
“We have already had to fight for the Lido and the Museum, we’ve lost some fights too with Metal at Chauffers Cottage and with some of the libraries but these things shouldn’t be treated lightly and we really need to support the fewer and fewer services we have in the city and fight to keep those alive.
“There is nothing else like it. Community gardens are a lifeline to a lot of people. There are various communities in Peterborough that come down and use the site, it has a very diverse usership. It is always busy and always serving the community and asking for nothing in return.
“We have stepped up, we have invigorated the board with lots of new members and we are really pushing to prove that we are an organisation that deserves to stay and be considered something the council should hold in high-esteem.”
Residents can have their say on Local Plan proposals until May 29, comments can be submitted on the council website.
To find out more about the Green Backyard and its campaign, visit https://www.thegreenbackyard.com/protect-the-green-backyard/.