Shape your local food growing strategy

About FCFCG Support, Promote and Represent Community Growing UK wide organisation, offices in Wales, NI, England and Scotland 5 staff in Scotland Community Land Advisory Service – advice and support on access to land Growing Together – advice on sustainability and less grant dependency Policy work – responding to regional and national policy consultations on behalf of members

FCFCG Members We are a national network. Over 140 members and many other groups involved. Support to members – advice, site visits, mentors, news updates, promotion, training and workshops, discounts etc. Supporting regional networks. Membership is free

Food Growing Strategies: background Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act – July 2015 “help to empower community bodies through the ownership of land and buildings, and by strengthening their voices in the decisions that matter to them” Asset transfer, Right to Buy, Participation Requests Part 9 – change to allotment legislation

Food Growing Strategies: summary of Act Section 119: Duty to prepare food-growing strategy (1) Each local authority must prepare a Food Growing Strategy (2) This should be published with 2 years from when Section 119 comes into force. (3) A food-growing strategy contains— (a) identifying land in its area which may be used as allotment sites, (b) identifying other areas of land which could be used by a community for growing vegetables, fruit, herbs or flowers, (c) how the authority intends to increase the provision of allotments, or other areas of land for communities to grow (d) containing such other information as may be prescribed. (4) Information on how the authority intends to make reasonable steps to increase allotments and community growing sites for communities which experience socio-economic disadvantage. (5) The authority must publish the food-growing strategy on a website or by other electronic means. Section 120: Duty to review food-growing strategy (1) Each local authority must review its strategy within 5 years of publication, and every 5 years after that.

What’s happened so far? Some local authorities have started work Support from greenspace scotland, Growing Together Midlothian, FCFCG and others Others are waiting until Section 119 starts (maybe later this year) Information events for local authorities have been hosted Knowledge Hub for sharing best practice khub.net/group/food-growing-strategies Part 9 consultation covers food growing strategies – deadline 17th November. FCFCG response to consultation will draw on information from today

119. Duty to prepare food-growing strategy When developing their food growing strategies, it would be good practice for local authorities to consult, wherever possible, with Grow-Your-Own communities within their areas to understand how best to offer Grow-Your-Own opportunities and to assist with managing waiting lists.  Prompt Questions: - How could your local authority better support you to deliver community food growing? - What kind of activities can you offer that would help manage allotment waiting lists? - Have you been involved in consultations by your local authority in the past?  How did this go?  Are there any good practice examples you can draw upon? - Are there any particular things that local authorities could do to support food growing opportunities in areas of multiple deprivation. 

120. Duty to review food-growing strategy As part of the review of the food-growing strategy, the local authority should compare the total number of people on their allotment waiting list with the total number of allotments in their area. They should also look at the length of time a person has been on the waiting list. If the number of people waiting for an allotment site is more than half the total number of allotments, or the person on the list has waited longer than 5 years to be offered an allotment, the local authority should make changes to their food-growing strategy and look at increasing Grow-Your-Own opportunities within their area. Prompt Questions: - What other things could a local authority measure to see how well they are doing to support community food growing?   

112. Duty to provide allotments This section places a duty on local authorities to take reasonable steps to ensure that the number of people on their waiting list does not exceed half the total number of allotments owned and leased by the authority; and that a person on the list does not wait more than five years for an allotment.  Subsection (4) provides that local authorities must have regard to the desirability of making available allotments that are reasonably close to where people on the relevant authority’s waiting list reside. There is no definition of “reasonably close” but as a guide, allotments within a 5 mile radius, or within a 30 minute journey on public transport from where people on the waiting list reside is considered reasonably close. Prompt Questions: What reasonable steps could your local authority do to reduce the number of people on their waiting list? How far is reasonably close to a community growing area for you?