Saintbridge Allotment Gardens Association
ABOUT US - The Association was founded in 2009 with the following objectives:
To ensure that Saintbridge Allotment Gardens be made available to local residents who wish to follow the recreation of gardening to benefit their health and well-being.
To promote all interests of the members in their gardening activities and to take joint action for the benefit and protection of its members.
To maintain harmonious and productive relationships with our landowners (Gloucester City Council) and the local community.
To promote a sense of vibrant community, to be socially inclusive, to value sustainability, to have regard for environmental protection, to value biodiversity and to promote open communication.
Membership, for which there is no charge, is open to all plot-holders at the Saintbridge Allotment Gardens site in Gloucester, along with other persons who are interested in promoting the wellbeing of the Saintbridge Allotment Gardens. The Association has a Committee with a Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and Agricultural Consultant.
Since its foundation, the Association has, with the help of various grants, made considerable improvements to the Allotment site. Members have cleared extensive areas of the site, removed derelict buildings, cleared rubbish and waste, restored plots to a workable condition, renewed fencing, hedging and access paths as well as having installed water storage tanks and additional taps to bring all plots within a reasonable distance of a water supply.
An area set aside for hazel coppice and bee hives has also been recently established on the site. The hives are monitored and managed by a professional bee keeper and the hazel will be coppiced on a rotation to provide bean poles for the allotments. The site has a conservation margin established with perennial wild flowers and grasses. This provides nectar and an overwintering habitat for pollinators and pest predators.
The Association is also establishing an area of community gardens for use by people of all ages, including people with varying types of disability.