Hull to become the first UK city to give people the "right to grow" their own food on public land,

 

Charlie Clutterbuck has “warmly welcomed” news that Hull is set to become the first UK city to give people the "right to grow" their own food on public land, and now wants “the idea adopting nationally.”

Labour councillor Gill Kennett acted after a local resident’s vegetable patch, which provided wholesome food for neighbours on public land had to be dug up following a complaint by a newly-arrived householder. Working closely with Hull Food Partnership (HFP), Kennett proposed a motion that won unanimous support at the September full City council meeting backing the right to grow vegetables on land owned by the authority.

“I feel strongly that this ticks so many boxes for Hull. We are a deprived city and having access to good fresh food, enabling people to get together to grow it and encouraging skilled growers to pass on their skills to the less experienced can bring communities together, make places look better, help tackle social isolation and potentially improve the mental health of some people,” said Kennett. “Plus, at a time of a cost-of-living crisis it can help reduce food bills.”

Council officers are now working to bring to life Kennett’s proposal with a report to go before the Communities, Culture and Leisure Scrutiny Committee in January outlining possible locations, providing access to water at them and examining the finance required to relieve pressure on insurance costs. “It might take a few months to get officially started, but I am excited at what we are trying to achieve,” said Kennett, who for many years worked in children’s services and on retirement became a councillor in 2012.

“It is great to see what they are planning in Hull,” said Clutterbuck who has mapped many parts of the NW to show food can be extensively grown on wasteland and who was central to the establishment of the Incredible Edible Project, Todmorden, formed in 2008 by Pam Warhurst who has been passing on her experiences to HFP.

“Rubbish land in a valley in the middle of the Pennines, producing salad crops nearly all year round, several thousand pounds worth of fruit-tree cuttings, and supporting bees, ducks and cows shows we could stop transporting food half way around the world by better using our public realm and reconnecting people to growing food, which includes vegetables and fruits, often not stocked by supermarkets, for diverse communities,” says Charlie.

HFP development officer Anna Route is keen for communities to get the official go-ahead to grow food on disused public land. “There are people want to do so now. It will take time to attract others but the more sites there are across the city will mean they’ll get noticed and attract new people. It needs to be viewed as a long-term thing as that is how growing works. It takes determination and effort, trial and error and to keep trying. But the rewards are worth it.”