Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea - Introductory Note: September 2014
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Introductory Note:
Urban Growing: Edible
Land in Swansea
September 2014
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 1
About this document
This document has been prepared by the Planning Policy Team and the Community Grow-
ing Team.
Who to Contact for Further Information?
Further information on Edible Land is available to view on the Council’s website:
www.swansea.gov.uk/growlocal
The Council's Community Food and Growing Team are available during normal office
hours to discuss any aspect of this document.
They can be contacted by letter/in person:
Community Food and Growing Team
Room 3.3.4
City & County of Swansea Council
Civic Centre
Oystermouth Road
Swansea
SA1 3SN
or via: Tel: 01792 635730 Email: foodandgrowing@swansea.gov.uk
The Council’s Planning Policy Team are available during normal office hours to discuss
any aspect of this document.
They can be contacted by letter/in person:
Planning Policy Team
Room 2.6.2
City and County of Swansea Council
Civic Centre
Oystermouth Road
Swansea
SA1 3SN
or via: Tel: 01792 635744 Email: ldp@swansea.gov.uk
Front cover photos 1, Grow Sheffield - Grow Sheffield. 2, Kilvay Hill over the Vetch
Swansea - CCS. 3, Queen red tailed bumblebee feeding on chives in Swansea herb garden -
Jo Mullett. 4, Toy on Vetch Veg Patch - Jo Mullett. 5, Growing Wellies - Feed Bristol (Avon
Wildlife Trust)
Contents page photos 1, Community Pizza at allotments- City and County of Swansea.
2, Clydach Primary School beans - Jo Mullett.3, Swansea Community Farm
Back cover photos 1, Gowerton Allotments 2, “Mochyn” Welsh Pigs - Jo Mullett. 3, Tot-
nes Chestnut Tree on the edge of playing field - Transition Town Totnes Nut and Fruit tree
project. 4, Coeden Fach. 5. Vetch Veg - Jo Mullet
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 2
Introductory Note: Urban Farming: Edible Land in
Swansea
Contents
An Introduction to Edible Land 4
Benefits of Urban Growing 5
Urban Growing and Planning 6
Practical Considerations 8
Edible Land Design Options 9
Community Growing Project Flow Chart 10
Guidance for New Community Growing Projects 11
Community Growing Approaches 14
Edible Land Case Studies 17
Resources and Further Information 25
Allotments in Swansea 27
Thank you to the following for Edible Land Case Study permission:
Brighton Hove City Council
Bristol Food Network and the Bristol Get Growing Map
Capital Growth
Coed Fach
Gowerton Allotment Society
Grow Sheffield
Shifting Growth
Star Apple Edible + Fine Gardening
Sustain - Capital Growth
Swansea Community Farm
Transition Town Totnes Nut and Fruit Tree Project
Wilson Meany
Vetch Veg
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 3
1 An Introduction to Edible Land
Edible land is a simple and quick step to help Although Urban Growing is not new as a
build communities, foster the principle of concept there is very little formal guidance
sustainable development, encourage biodi- on the topic, as it is not generally subject to
versity, learn a skill and gain enjoyment. any regulation or control. This document
From something as simple as raised vegeta- therefore highlights related guidance and
ble beds in your own garden to community advice and draws attention to matters for
gardens, urban farms to roof top vegetable consideration when embarking on a pro-
patches, there are many opportunities and ject .
simple ways to grow your own food here in
Swansea.
The Council recognises the value of Edible
Land, and this document sets out the various
issues that need to be considered in promot-
ing further opportunities for ‘Urban Farming’
in Swansea. This document includes design
options that may be incorporated into new
residential schemes. It is also hoped that the
case studies presented may inspire members
of the community to take the initiative to
Vetch Veg, Swansea
start their own edible land schemes.
Edible Land Types
Edible Landscaping Container Growing
Urban Farming Allotments Rooftop Gardens
Vegetable Patches Community Farms
Community Gardens Vertical Growing ...and many more!
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 4
2 Benefits of Urban Growing
Urban Growing opportunities, such as allot-
ments, contribute to the well being of the
individual and the wider community. Gar-
dening provides the opportunity for a year-
round recreational interest which is active,
sociable, inclusive, and a hobby that reflects
the ideals of sustainability and promotes
wellbeing. Unlike other leisure activities, it
provides not only exercise, mental relaxation
and lifelong learning opportunities, but com- Photo courtesy of: CCS.
munities can be strengthened or formed and Tea Pots at the Vetch, Swansea
fresh fruit and vegetables produced can con-
tribute to healthy living. According to the UK Government’s Food
Benefits wider than individuals and their Strategy: Food 2030: “Growing food – at
social sphere: home, in a community garden or allotment –
can produce a number of other benefits in-
• Allotments are an important element of cluding better mental and physical health,
the greenspace infrastructure of urban bringing people together and improved
areas; skills.”1 The Committee on Environment,
• They provide important spaces for Transport & Regional Affairs produced a re-
healthy living; port on allotments which detailed both their
• Biodiversity can flourish within these physical and therapeutic benefits, these in-
spaces. cluded: “exercise, the supply of affordable
• They can also reduce food distribution fresh vegetables, increased biodiversity,
carbon emissions associated with supply, ‘green space’, and the potential for educa-
as local produce is consumed locally as tional and therapeutic benefits for some sec-
opposed to consuming produce grown tions of the community.” 2
elsewhere - even overseas.
Urban Growing brings multi-use to green-
space, offering an alternative to conven-
tional residential landscapes. It can
strengthen communities by providing a place
to socialise as well as produce. Urban Grow-
ing also can be linked to other functional
green landscapes such as Sustainable Drain-
age Systems (SuDS).
Photo courtesy of: CCS
Growing at Ty Dewi Sant
1
The Future for Allotments: Environment, Transport & Re-
gional Affairs Committee Fifth Report (June 1998)
2
Food 2030: UK Government’s Food Strategy http://
archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/pdf/
food2030strategy.pdf
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 5
3 Urban Growing and Planning
From a planning policy perspective, guidance space function and contribute to sustain-
on edible land solely relates to allotments as able development.
this is normally the only form of edible land
Technical Advice Note 16: Sport, Rec-
use requiring planning control. However,
planning is supportive of the edible land con- reation and Open Space
3
cept in principle, as it is strongly associated Key Policy Points:
with sustainable development, community • Allotments are identified important green
intergration, health and wellbeing all of spaces and their cultivation can contrib-
which are themes strongly encouraged in ute to sustainability, provide opportuni-
National, and local planning guidance. ties for leisure, exercise and healthy food,
improve biodiversity and encourage in-
Welsh Government advice is that
teraction between different groups in the
“allotments should be an important part of
community.
building a sustainable society.”1, and as such
they are covered by both Planning Policy
Wales (PPW) and Technical Advice Note
(TAN) 16: Sport, Recreation and Open Space.
PPW recognises the importance of allot-
ments and their contribution to sustainable
development. TAN 16 further identifies the
positives allotment provision can provide.
Importantly, both note that allotments
should be retained, and if loss is necessary
mitigation against that loss should be en-
couraged.
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/planning/policy/tans
Relevant Policy Guidance Extracts
Planning Policy Wales2 Unitary Development Plan
The City and County of Swansea Unitary De-
velopment Plan (UDP) adopted November
2008 provides the current local policy con-
text for determining planning applications.
The UDP sets out a range of policies and pro-
posals relating to future development, use
and conservation of land and buildings
within the City & County up to 2016.
The UDP implicitly recognises the impor-
tance of allotments in objectives which seek
to protect and enhance the greenspace sys-
tem, retain and improve community recrea-
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/planning/policy/ppw/ tion land to maintain access to open spaces,
Key Policy Points: promote healthier lifestyles and tackle
• Allotments should be retained, particu- health inequalities. Allotments fall within the
larly where they have an important open definition of Community Recreation Land
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 6
protected by Policy HC23, which specifies: The potential for identification of local stan-
“Community Recreation Land Policy HC23 dards of accessible open space including al-
Development proposals that involve the loss lotments will form important background
of land for community recreation purposes, evidence for the Plan. For more information
whether in public or private ownership, will on the LDP please see www.swansea.gov.uk/
only be considered favourably where: ldp
www.swansea.gov.uk/udp
(i) Facilities can best be retained and en-
hanced through the development of a small
part of the site, or
Bee Hives at the Vetch
(ii) Alternative provision of equivalent com-
munity benefit is made available, or
(iii) There is an excess of provision in the
area, or The production of this paper forms part of
(iv) A wider community benefit arises, or the research and evidence base for emerg-
(v) The existing and potential recreational or ing LDP policy on greenspace protection
amenity or natural heritage or historic envi- and use of community recreation land in-
ronment value of the land is maintained....” cluding edible land.
The UDP also regards allotments as pocket
sites, so they are further protected by Policy For Planning Applications contact Swansea’s
EV24. Development Control team on (01792)
Greenspace System Policy EV24 635701 www.swansea.gov.uk/planning.
Within the greenspace system, consisting of
wildlife reservoirs, green corridors, pocket
sites and riparian corridors, the natural heri-
tage and historic environment will be con- 1
National Assembly for Wales Sustainability Committee
served and enhanced. Development propos- Allotment Provision in Wales July 2010 Page 8. http://
als which would be likely to have a signifi- www.assemblywales.org/cr-ld8152-e.pdf
2
Planning Policy Wales (PPW) Edition 5. Page 79 http://
cant adverse effect on the greenspace sys- wales.gov.uk/topics/planning/policy/ppw/?lang=en
tem or which do not provide for appropriate 3
Technical Advice Note 16: Sport, Recreation and Open
compensatory or mitigation measures will Space. Page 20 http://wales.gov.uk/topics/planning/policy/
tans/tan16e/?lang=en
not be permitted. 6 4
City & County of Swansea Unitary Development Plan p.105
Local Development Plan http://www.swansea.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=20475
5
City & County of Swansea Unitary Development Plan
The Local Development Plan (LDP) is cur-
http://www.swansea.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=20475
rently in production and will supersede the 6
City & County of Swansea Unitary Development Plan
UDP upon completion. http://www.swansea.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=20475
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 7
4 Practical Considerations
Although there are many health and wellbe- metres from busy roads...”1 Dr. Anne C. Bel-
ing benefits of encouraging edible land initia- lows notes that “Polycyclicaromatic hydro-
tives, when considering the siting and devel- carbons (PAHs), a known carcinogen, have
opment of Community Growing schemes been found in urban soils…They may exist in
due regard must be given to the following: gardens and other urban soils due to vehicle
Historical Use of the Land: Not all land pollution from adjacent roads and railways,
may be suitable for food growing without past wood or coal burning on or near the
prior remediation works. Brownfield sites site.”2 DEFRA’s Food and Environment Re-
with a history of industry may have high lev- search Agency also confirms concerns about
els of heavy metals, sulphates, phenols, as- PAHs near roadside schemes. Numerous
bestos, etc. Alternatively, areas which were academic studies have been conducted
previously agricultural may have experienced which investigate pollutants in urban horti-
biological contamination. Pollutants may culture, therefore caution is advised and
have potentially significant adverse effects proper mitigation or remediation methods
both to human health and that of the sur- are advised before embarking on a scheme.
rounding environment if disturbed. Based on Sites of Importance for Nature Conser-
the historical use of the site, a soil survey vation (SINC) and Wildlife Sites: Ensure
may be prudent to check for contamination no protected or priority species or habitats
and/or soil tests would be useful to deter- are on site by speaking to the Council’s Bio-
mine whether or not the land is suitable for diversity Team.
growing food. Alternatively sites may have
rare and protected species. Contact the
Council’s Biodiversity Team to establish if
there are any protected species. (Contact:
nature.conservation@swansea.gov.uk)
Previous uses can be determined by check-
ing historical maps - County archives or the
Council’s Development Management and
Control Team may be able to assist with this.
Whilst visual clues on site, such as stains on
patches of soil, an oily sheen to puddles, ex-
istence of pipes or tanks, should raise alert
to the site’s possible contamination.
Uses Adjacent to the Site: Uses nearby
may not be complementary to the growing
of foods for consumption. A recent European
Commission Directorate General Environ-
ment News Alert highlighted the implications
of growing near to traffic pollution. The main Raised beds at the Vetch, Swansea
findings concluded that “All vegetables con-
1
tained higher concentrations of lead if they "Science for Environment Policy": European Commission
DG Environment News Alert Service, edited by SCU, The
were grown on sites with high levels of traf- University of the West of England, Bristol.
fic... For lead, EU standards were exceeded 2
Health Benefits of Urban Agriculture Anne C. Bellows, PhD
by two thirds of the crops sampled from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Katherine
Brown, PhD Southside Community Land Trust; Jac Smit,
sites with high traffic burdens, less than 10 MCP The Urban Agriculture Network.
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 8
5 Edible Land Design Options
Space for edible land is all around us. Besides Green Walls
dedicating a portion of a garden, a piece of There are various types of Green Walls, from
greenspace or using an allotment, there are freestanding installations to the greening of
some exciting opportunities to be taken actual building walls, with the plants rooting
whilst designing or renovating the built envi- on the wall itself (in an appropriate media or
ronment. Traditional provision, such as allot- on ledges affixed to the wall), or with roots
ments or gardens can be challenging in high at the foot of the structure.
density developments, however developers
can be creative in incorporating opportuni-
Roof Top Gardens
A Roof Top Garden can be included at the
ties into master planning a development.
design phase of development or can reclaim
Community Farming ‘lost’ space on an existing development.
An opportunity may exist in larger residential There are varying types of roof:
developments to set aside a piece of green
space which could be used for growing food. Green roofs are roofs wholly covered in
Such plots should be well visible for security vegetation. They do not have to grow edible
purposes, accessible by residents, flat and plants - they serve many functions including;
ideally be set up following consultation with absorption of rain water, promoting biodi-
local residents as to what they would like to versity by providing habitats, and as insula-
see planted in the set up of the space, with tion for the building below.
the land then handed over to a residents’ Container gardens are another example of
association for future care. roof top gardens, where plants are grown
Residential Gardens out of containers on the roof or balcony
Below are just a few examples of possibilities area. This may be a cheaper and more flexi-
within an residential garden: ble option than installing a green roof.
Herb Wheel. A formal garden utilising culi-
nary herbs to create a unique design. Technical and Practical Considera-
Potager/Kitchen Garden. A functional ele-
ment to a regular residential (aesthetic) gar-
tions
den that can provide herb and vegetable • Roof/Wall penetration - roots or farming
growing opportunities. Sections for edible implements may breach waterproofing of
crops can be sectioned off from the regular a roof or may damage the integrity of a
garden or elements mixed together. roof/wall. Ensure protection of roof mem-
brane using root barriers.
• Load bearing - ensure that the roof/wall
can take addition weight of planting.
• Conditions - roofs can be more exposed,
windier and may not be as shaded as the
ground.
• Health and safety concerns relating to ac-
cess and working at height.
1
Green Roofs - SuDS Wales
Photo courtesy of: Jo Mullett.
http://www.sudswales.com/types/source-control/green-
Herb wheel at Swansea Community Farm roofs/
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 9
6 Growing Project Flow Chart
Interested in starting a community growing project?
Are you an individual?
Are you part of a group (e.g. commu- Any growing projects will need to
nity project, residents association)? show interest from a group of peo-
ple. The Council’s Community Food
and Growing Team can help you to
ask others if they want to join you
and to form a group.
Do you have a piece of land in mind?
Please contact the Council’s Com-
Yes No munity Food and Growing Team
for help and ideas.
Where is the land?
Housing Private land / Park Other land
estate derelict land Planting schemes in The Council’s
The Coun- If you know who the public parks are man- Community
cil’s Commu- landowner is (eg private aged by Council garden- Food and
nity Food housing association, uni- ers but sometimes with Growing Team
and Growing versity, business), the the support of a can contact the
Team can Council’s Community ‘Friends of’ group, a relevant Coun-
contact the Food and Growing Team group can help with cil Department
council’s can support you to ask planting if the Council to request per-
Housing them for permission. gives permission and mission to
team to re- If you don’t know, we the space is not being plant on verges
quest per- can try to help you find used for other activities. and roadsides.
mission to out who owns the land It may also be worth
plant on and ask their permission, approaching the park
land around but this may need to be gardener or Community
council-run done via the Land Regis- Parks Team about host-
estates. try which incurs a fee. ing some containers.
You can contact The Community Food and Growing Team via: foodandgrow-
ing@swansea.gov.uk, www.swansea.gov.uk/growlocal or 01792 635730
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 107 Guidance for New Community Growing Projects
This information has been developed to help The Our Growing Community guidance
communities in Swansea explore new places notes and resource pack (separate docu-
and more ways to grow their own food. ment) provides more information about the
2
different places where you could grow fruit
Use it to help you to: and vegetables. It highlights ‘things to con-
• Get inspired and spark ideas about com-
sider’ and describe how to ‘make it happen’.
munity growing with your group or peo-
With real life examples and suggestions of
ple in your area.
‘who can help’, the notes will help you find
• Map and audit your local spaces that
the right support and assistance to start your
could be used for growing food.
own food growing community in Swansea.
• Explore the range of community growing
options.
• Think about the practicalities of different
growing approaches and find the ones
that will work best for your community.
• Plan local action to develop your commu-
nity growing projects and activities.
Swansea Community Farm
Conducting a growing space audit
Get a group of interested people together to
explore ‘where could we grow?’
• Create or draw your own local map and
plot potential growing spaces.
Polytunnel at Swansea’s Vetch Veg. • Conduct an ‘on foot’ growing space site
audit - explore the area to find possible
Why do this? sites - take photographs and record infor-
More and more people in Swansea want to
mation about site condition and owner-
grow their own fruit and vegetables but land
ship.
availability is a big challenge.
• Map and compile your findings as set of
The Council wants to increase the number of potential ‘community growing scenarios’
growing spaces to encourage people to grow – then use this toolkit to identify what
their own food. Community growing can also community growing approaches could
strengthen communities, encourage self- work in the different spaces.
sufficiency and provide healthy activity.
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 11Finding out who owns the land Reality checking your ideas
It’s a good idea to find out who owns the • Contact the ’Experts’ like the Council’s
identified land in the early stages of the de- Community Food and Growing Team or
veloping your ideas, so that you know who CLAS Cymru – they can help you develop
to approach to find out if the land is avail-
ideas.
able and suitable to grow food. Projects in
public spaces may be time-limited and tem- • Use their technical know-how and experi-
porary and you may need to sign an agree- ence to help you work out the best way to
ment with the land owner. The Council’s take your ideas forward.
Community Food and Growing Team and the
Land Registry can all help to determine own-
ership
Visualising a food growing community
Talk to the wider community about your
ideas:
• run a community planning event or hold
workshops with different local groups -
present the potential community growing
scenarios for the area and get new ideas
Coeden Fach
about them.
• use the feedback from the event to identify Delivering a food growing community
the community growing approaches you • Set up a local community growing group
want to explore further. to oversee the delivery of your ideas.
• Produce an action plan for things to do in
Community Consultation the short and longer term.
At the beginning of any project talking to
• Keep ‘experts’ on board – some might be
people in the immediate area who may be
affected by the proposal – or might want to able to offer advice and help you deliver
get involved is important. You should talk to your ideas, others might be able to help
local residents, local ward members and with funding and resources.
community groups and schools to ask them
their thoughts, whether they have any Writing a proposal
strong objections, whether they have any- The land owner will want to see a proposal
thing to add and if they would like to get in- outlining what you want to do, who will be
volved. Speak to as many people as possible involved, what your space might will look
who have an interest in the space. Will a like, how you know the community is sup-
growing space conflict with ways that other portive of your ideas etc. Writing a project
people use it? It’s always helpful to be able proposal is really useful in helping plan your
to evidence local support for a project. A project and can help demonstrate that your
short questionnaire is a good way to docu- group has the capacity to develop and man-
ment people’s comments. You could gather age a growing space. Once complete, it can
a list of names and contact details of people also help convince others about the value of
you’ve talked to. Be sure to include your your idea and will be useful if you need to
findings and even some supportive quotes in apply for funding.
your proposal.
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 12Other things to think about when planning your project:
• Are there protected or priority species and habitats on site?
• Will security be an issue?
• What are the likely costs involved? How are you going to get funding?
• What tools, equipment and materials will you need? Will you need storage for them?
• How will you water the garden? Is there a source nearby? Or collection a possibility?
• How often will you need to be there to maintain the garden?
• Be realistic: gardens take a lot of work to maintain so you’ll need a committed core
team (as few as three or four people) to keep it going. Start small and keep it manageable.
Who can help?
Swansea Council’s Community Food Federation of City Farms and Commu-
and Growing Team is responsible for: nity Gardens FCFCG is delivering a three-
supporting the development and creation of year programme in Wales called Tyfu Pobl
new growing spaces, administering Swansea (Growing People) through a team of regional
Council’s ‘Grow Local’ small grant scheme, development workers who support and ad-
and the management of Swansea Council’s vise both existing and emerging community
Allotment provision growing projects, enabling the sharing and
Email: foodandgrowing@swansea.gov.uk transfer of best practice information, knowl-
Website: www.swansea.gov.uk/ edge and skills.
foodandgrowing Tel: 01792 635730 Website: https://www.farmgarden.org.uk/
farms-gardens/your-region/wales
Community Land Advisory Service in Email: wales@farmgarden.org.uk Tel: 02920
225942
Wales (CLAS Cymru) is a service managed
by the Federation of City Farms and Commu-
nity Gardens helps community groups, land-
owners and aims to make more land avail-
able community growing spaces. Support
available includes: assistance in identifying
potential sources of land, negotiating its use
on a temporary or long term basis, advice
and support on legal issues, land agree-
ments, land purchase etc, and navigating the
planning system.
Email: wales@communitylandadvice.org.uk
Tel: 02921 960 966 Website: http://
wl.communitylandadvice.org.uk/
CLAS Cymru and FCFCG are currently work-
ing in partnership with Swansea Council to
increase the number of growing spaces and
Photo courtesy of: CCS
develop best practice around community
growing in Swansea. SPARK Painted Vegetable Planter
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 138 Community Growing Approaches This section provides an overview of the different community approaches. Abundance, foraging and scrumping involves collecting surplus produce (mainly fruit) and putting it to good use. There are many fruit trees growing wild or in people’s gardens - often a lot of this produce goes in the bin or is never harvested. Scrumping was an old term for stealing apples but today it is used to describe finding fruit and other edibles growing in public places such as road sides. Allotments are probably the most familiar and traditional form of community growing. Allotments are areas of land divided into plots which individuals or groups of people gar- den. Plots are rented from allotment providers. There are 16 sites on Council land, six of which are managed by the Council and ten are managed by Allotment Associations. There is also one site on private land. All sites have waiting lists. To find out more visit www.swansea.gov.uk/allotments Beekeeping involves the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in hives. Bees will help with improving community growing productivity, the quality of the produce and will produce honey. Virtually all fruit and seed crop production on a growing space will benefit from honey bee pollination. Community gardens are locally managed areas of land developed in response to the needs of the communities in which they are based. They have a strong social focus and function, often providing much needed greenspace in urban areas. Most of the gardening is communal with groups and individuals contributing to the cultivation of the whole site. Many community gardens include significant elements of fruit and vegetable growing as well as community cooking and events within their activities. Community market gardens are large areas of cultivated land, often with poly-tunnels and other infrastructure. They have a commercial focus in terms of food production and are usually under community or social ownership or management. Most operate on a so- cial enterprise basis; aiming to provide produce at reasonable cost to the wider commu- nity e.g. through organic box deliveries to the local area. Community orchards are collections of fruit, and sometimes nut, trees and bushes. A community orchard is open to local people, providing access to the produce grown. As well as enjoying the orchard, local people can share the harvest or profit from its sale and are often involved in taking responsibility for any work involved. A ‘virtual orchard’ in- volves planting fruit trees and bushes in individual gardens, with agreement from the gar- den owners to share the fruit and the harvest of it. In this way a community orchard can still be created where the availability of land is an issue. Community small holdings are areas of land, bigger than a garden and smaller than a farm, which are used for productive agriculture or forestry. They can be comprised of families, individuals or communities, where people pool resources to hold land together. Community supported agriculture is defined as a partnership between farmers and con- sumers where the responsibilities and rewards of farming are shared between them. They can be farmer-led, where the community buys ‘shares’ and the return on these is pro- duce; or community-led, where the community instigates and runs the scheme itself. Some communities do the growing themselves, others employ a grower. Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 14
Container growing - if there is not enough space for a vegetable plot then growing vege- tables in containers is a good way to grow your own. A hanging basket, patio pot, old tyres, barrels and builders bags are all containers that are commonly used for growing food. Edible landscapes (including edible borders and hedges) involves growing food in places which are less traditionally associated with community growing. In many cases this in- volves using civic and ‘incidental’ spaces in towns and cities. For example, growing vegeta- bles and herbs in and amongst, or instead of, formal landscaping in flower beds and civic planting. This approach requires a rethink about the role and use of the public realm and the landscaping and management of public areas. Forest gardening involves growing a multi-storey arrangement of perennial and self- seeding plants to provide food. They are designed to be sustainable, edible landscapes which follow the pattern of young woodland systems. A forest garden could be described as a relaxed, informal orchard with room for soft fruit and vegetables to grow. Healing and therapeutic gardens are spaces that are specifically designed to meet the physical, psychological and social needs of the people using the garden as well as their care-givers, family members and friends. They can be found in a variety of health care re- lated settings. They can be designed to include active uses such as raised planters for hor- ticultural therapy, alongside programmes for passive uses. Landshare is a process where people with gardens or other sites that they cannot manage are matched with people who are keen to grow food but have no space in which to do it. Garden or site owners often receive a proportion of the produce in return for donating their space. Typically it involves a website where landowners can post details of sites they would like to offer and where potential growers can register their interest in taking on. Nectar boarders are areas of land in, next to or near community growing spaces which are managed for wildflowers. The aim is to attract pollinating insects such as bees and butterflies to support the pollination of fruit and seed crops. Raised beds are enclosed areas of soil or compost which are higher than the surrounding ground. Higher beds make it easier for those with physical disabilities to use. Beds can be designed to fit the space and are a good solution for growing vegetables in areas of hard landscaping or where space is limited. Roof gardens are gardens created on the roofs of building. They can provide food growing spaces, habitats for wildlife and community gardens. The practice of cultivating food on the rooftops of building is sometimes referred to as rooftop farming and is usually done using container, green roof or hydroponics, aeroponics or air-dynaponics systems. Temporary growing is the creation of food growing areas on land that will only be avail- able for a limited amount of time. This mainly includes stalled development or derelict gap sites, for which a long term use has yet to be found. In the longer term these spaces will be developed and/or built on, but increasingly these sorts of spaces are being used ‘in the meantime’ for community uses, including food growing with the agreement that when development starts the community will move elsewhere. Vertical growing - urban gardens with small outdoor spaces can make the most of their walls to plant everything from lavish flower displays to home-grown vegetables. The trend is growing in popularity in city gardens, as well as a number of community gardening pro- jects, because of its eco-friendly credentials and space-saving techniques. Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 15
Community Growing Chart
A quick reference guide to which community growing approaches will work best where.
Top ten tips to encourage pollinators and wildlife into your garden
1. Plan your garden so there are plants in flower all year round to attract bees and butterflies.
2. Grow ornamental plants that provide berries and seeds to attract birds and small mammals.
3. Select plants that provide fragrance into the evening for both you and night-flying insects.
4. Leave seed heads of annuals and herbaceous perennials over winter to provide food and shelter
for insects, birds and small mammals.
5. Where space allows, stack sawn off tree and shrub branches into a log pile to provide shelter for
insects, amphibians and small mammals.
6. Install bird feeders, bird boxes, bee nests and bat boxes. Remember to keep food and water sup-
plies stocked all year.
7. Consider replacing fences with hedges. They can offer nesting sites as well as additional food
sources, and create a more effective windbreak than a solid barrier.
8. Alternatively, train ivy up sturdy walls or fences. Ivy is not only decorative all year, but provides
nectar, pollen and berries when there is little else about, and is a favourite with nesting birds.
9. Incorporate a water feature into your garden. Even something as small as a washing-up bowl can
provide water for birds and a home to pond insects that in turn attract birds and bats.
10 Recycle old plant material in a compost heap or leaf mould pile. Dig it into the garden as a soil
improver or use as mulch.
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 169 Edible Land Case Studies
There are numerous examples of exceptional For ease of use, each case study is accompa-
and creative Urban Growing and edible land nied by a series of symbols from the follow-
projects. From farms located underground in ing list which indicate the nature of the pro-
a former bank vault under the streets of ject.
Otemachi in Japan, to a top London restau-
Type Symbol
rant that grows some of it’s ingredients on
the roof. This section highlights various edi- Educational
ble land and community growing projects
both locally and from around the world. A
diverse range of schemes are highlighted; Community
from large-scale city-wide projects to small-
scale community based schemes. These in- Design
clude schemes that are led by communities
and those instigated by large scale residen-
Built Environment
tial developers. Some projects share infor-
mation on growing opportunities whilst oth-
ers highlight what is possible with funding Wales
and urban farming training courses.
UK
International
TOPIC raised beds Swansea
Rather than just using these ideas as a tem-
plate to copy, this Introductory Note seeks
to inspire interested individuals or commu-
nity groups to develop projects appropriate
for their local situation or Swansea as a
whole.
These case studies are included for illustra- Photo courtesy of: Jo Mullett.
tive purposes only as examples of how the Ready to grow at Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg
concept of edible land can be translated into Bryniago, Pontarddulais, Swansea
a real world application. They are not neces-
sarily endorsed by the City & County of
Swansea Council.
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 17Vetch Community Garden Swansea
Location Swansea The intention was to transform a section of
the stadium into a temporary vegetable gar-
Established 2012
den leading to a Grand Finale of a “Flower
Key details Established to promote and encourage and Produce Show” in June 2012 when the
a community spirit through gardening
Adain Avion plane “landed” in Swansea.
and other social activities.
The Vetch Veg Community Garden is based
on the Vetch, the historic home of Swansea
City FC. The football stadium was known as
The Vetch because its previous owners, the
Swansea Gaslight Company (circa 1912),
used the area to grow animal forage.
Photo courtesy of: CCS
The Vetch Orchard
By June 2012, local people had created 110
raised beds, 20 communal beds, composting
bins, water harvesting, two poly tunnels, in-
stalled a bee hive, built a kitchen, created a
traditional cob oven and rescued an old sum-
merhouse from the Glynn Vivian Home for
the Blind (which was being demolished) and
repaired and erected it on the 2,500 mtr sq
site.
Photo courtesy of: Vetch Community Garden
In January 2013 the project became an inde-
A View of the Vetch
pendently constituted association and se-
The original Vetch Veg Project was commis- cured a 7-year lease from the City & County
sioned for the Cultural Olympiad 2012 as a of Swansea to continue the work of the
participatory artwork in association with Community Garden.
Adain Avion, Swansea Environmental Forum,
The Community Garden has provided a focus
Taliesin Arts Centre, Glynn Vivian Gallery and
for local people, community groups and
supported by the City & County of Swansea.
schools to engage through a series of partici-
patory stages planting, tending, harvesting
and cooking their produce on site - cultures
meeting over a shared meal.
The work of the Community Garden contin-
ues to raise awareness around environ-
mental and social issues, reusing, reshaping
and rethinking resources.
The work on Vetch Veg Community Garden
has resulted in the creation of a bank of ex-
perience that is happily shared others who
Photo courtesy of: Vetch Community Garden
may wish to embark on a similar project.
Beans at the Vetch
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 18Swansea Community Farm
Location Swansea meals for Farm users and visitors.
Size 3.5 acre
Established 1992
Key details Working urban farm (including live-
stock) offering volunteer opportunities
and educational visits.
Further info www.swanseacommunityfarm.org.uk
The Farm aims to help reconnect people of
all ages, backgrounds and abilities with their
food, their environment and each other at
the only city farm in Wales. Swansea Community Farm
Farm animals – Swansea Community Farm Volunteer & Training programme – supports
operates as a small working farm, stocking a adult volunteers of all ages, backgrounds and
range of rare and rare-Welsh breed farm ani- abilities to participate in the day to day run-
mals which provide food for the plate as well ning and longer term development of the
as promoting increased awareness of the Farm while equipping them with the knowl-
issues surrounding food production. edge, skills and confidence to move forward
in their own lives and contribute positively to
the Farm and wider communities.
Child & Youth programme - develops skills,
confidence and knowledge in mainly local
young people through hands-on practical
engagement in the day to day running and
development of Farm activities and through
free play opportunities within a safe, suppor-
tive and stimulating environment.
Education programme - full and half day
school visits and courses (2-12 weeks), with
Swansea Community Farm an outdoor based, practical and experiential
Grounds & Buildings –the maintenance and approach to learning around a variety of en-
development of the 3.5 acre, purpose de- vironmental and food related issues.
signed and fully accessible site to demon-
strate a range of sustainability, resource con- As a small independent charity the Farm is
servation and nature conservation manage- overseen by a dedicated group of volunteer
ment techniques. Food growing is promoted Trustees who, since 2005, when the Farm
through the community allotment, tradi- became fully operational, have seen the
tional orchard, raised beds, apiaries and edi- Farm’s services grow rapidly. Each year the
ble hedges. Swansea Community Farm works with over
200 adult volunteers, over 400 children and
Farm Café – built by volunteers and offering
young people, over 1,200 school children as
a range of informal and accredited training
part of more than 50 school visits schools
opportunities in cooking healthy and afford-
and host around 10,000 visiting members of
able food as well as serving tasty treats and
the public.
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 19Coeden Fach - Swansea Community Tree Nursery
Location Bishopston, Swansea
Size 1.6 acres
Established 2008
Key details Provides training and practical experi-
ence of tree and perennial plant grow-
ing skills. Also supplies trees, shrubs and
perennial plants.
Further info Email: Coeden.fach@yahoo.co.uk
Based in Bishopston, Coeden Fach is a com-
munity organisation initiated in February
2008 to promote sustainable land manage- Planting at Coeden Fach
ment, facilitating education for today and ery and offer training and practical aid in
tomorrow. The nursery field is 1.6 acres and growing trees and perennial plants for both
is leased privately. It’s normally open on woodlands and food production. Coeden
Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9.30 – Fach works with many local businesses, com-
1.30 for volunteers and visitors. Coeden munity groups, Community Councils ,schools
Fach are establishing a community tree nurs- and the Local Council.
Gowerton Allotment Society
Location Gowerton, Swansea increasing interest in ‘growing your own’.
There is currently a waiting list of people
Size 1.14 acres
wishing to obtain a plot.
Established 1929
Recently, there has been a drive to improve
Key details Allows and assist members of the local
and develop the Station Road site, increasing
community in and around Gowerton to
the availability of plots. Following successful
participate in the growing of fruits and
vegetables. grant applications, an area of ground was
Further info reclaimed and a mains supply of water has
Gowerton Allotment Society has been in ex- been developed.
istence since 1929, when a group of employ-
ees at the Baldwin’s factory in Gowerton,
entered into a rental agreement with the
Penllegaer Estate. There are currently 40 plot
holders, within a wide age range. Families
are encouraged and the Society is happy to
be involved with other aspects of life within
the community, be it local schools or other
organisations. The Society has a close rela-
tionship with and receives continued support
from Gowerton Community Council. Over
the last decade, Gowerton Allotment Society
has grown in member numbers due to an Gowerton Allotments
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 20Capital Growth
Location London community food growing spaces across Lon-
don by the end of 2012. The project works
Established 2009
with local authorities, housing associations
Key details Offers practical help, grants, training and other landowners, making under-used
and support to groups in establishing
community food growing projects.
land available to growers and communities.
Capital Growth is a hub for Urban Farming
Further info http://www.capitalgrowth.org/
information, offering practical help, grants,
Capital Growth is a partnership initiative be- training and support to groups wanting to
tween London Food Link, the Mayor of Lon- establish community food growing projects
don, and the Big Lottery's Local Food Fund. as well as advice to landowners. The project
Championed by the Chair of the London was piloted in 2009 and has since grown to
Food Board. It aimed to create 2012 new support over 2020 growing spaces.
Grow Sheffield
Location Sheffield, England Soup event. The event brings allotment
Size Active in community growing projects holders, the community, performers and art-
in 13 areas of the city, active Abun- ists together to celebrate harvest on an al-
dance hubs in 9 areas of the city, food lotment site. Grow Sheffield works in part-
sourcing, growing and consuming map- nership to raise awareness of wider issues of
ping, and volunteering projects, across
sustainability and has active links with local
whole city.
Universities, Voluntary Action Sheffield,
Established 2007 by Anne-Marie Culhaine Transition Sheffield, and Sheffield City Coun-
Key details A not for profit organisation that cele- cil. Grow Sheffield is engaged with local or-
brates, inspires and raises awareness ganisations including: schools, resident's as-
of the benefits of growing, harvesting
sociations, homeless shelters, church
and sharing food.
groups, community forums, local businesses
Further info www.growsheffield.com and artists through many diverse pro-
jects, which includes Encounter Abundance.
In 2008 Grow Sheffield collaborated
with Encounters Arts to create Encounter
Abundance, a shop with a difference, that
offered free fruit in exchange for stories,
recipes, swaps and ideas.
“GROW SHEFFIELD celebrates, inspires and raises
Photo courtesy of: Grow Sheffield
awareness of the benefits of growing, harvesting
Grow Sheffield began as an active network and sharing food across our communities and
of individuals and groups promoting urban city. We are transforming our city into an urban
organic food which growing adopted a crea- food-growing landscape, based on collaboration,
tive approach to establishing a cultural where anyone who wants to has the opportunity,
shift. It currently provides training, advice space and support to grow and harvest chemical-
and practical skills to help people grow and free fresh fruit and vegetables. We believe a vi-
harvest food in their community. It organises brant, diverse food culture is a vital aspect of our
events, such as the annual Allotment healthy communities.” ~ Grow Sheffield Vision
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 21Bay Meadows Community Garden
Location San Mateo, south of San Francisco, in planning the community. This includes the
California , USA City Council and City Planning Department,
Size The garden will be home to 99 unique and staff of the City of San Mateo (where the
garden plots that will eventually be community is located), along with many local
planted and maintained by local resi- citizens and neighbours and community or-
dents under the guidance of Star Ap- ganizations. Nine architects/landscape archi-
ple. The project is designed to be a
sustained feature of the community
tects, and ARUP engineers were involved in
for decades to come. the design of the Bay Meadows community.
The Community food garden was the initia-
Established Concepts of the project evolved in
conjunction with the programming of tive of the developer with design and pro-
other greenspaces in the develop- gramming work undertaken by Star Apple
ment over the past two years. (edible garden specialists), CMG landscape
Key details The developer wishes to create a architects, and Merit Property Management
community that embraces a sustain- (Home Owners Association management
able, urban lifestyle hoping that the company). The consideration of a meaningful
community garden will help future community space that fosters neighbourly
residents become vested and con-
nected to their wider community encounters, personal accomplishments and
while celebrating concepts of sustain- memorable experiences was a huge focus
able living. during the planning stages of the project and
Further info http://baymeadows.com/community- the concept of community food gardens sup-
garden port all of those objectives.
The long term viability of the community gar-
Drawing on inspiration from a number of
den has also been carefully considered and
projects including community urban farms in
the cost of the garden construction is pri-
various US/Canadian cities (San Francisco,
vately-funded by the developer. The initial
Oakland, LA, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto) the
operating costs will also be subsidised by the
developers sought to instill the principles of
developer, but in the long run will be met by
sustainable living into their development
subscription fees of the garden plot users
master plan for a new urban village.
along with Home Owners Association dues
The overall Bay Meadows project (formerly a from the overall community.
horse race track) had stakeholders involved
Plan courtesy of: Wilson Meany
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 22Transition Town Totnes Fruit and Nut Tree Project
Location Totnes Associations, small local charities, as well as
Size Town wide
National Tree Council funding. Vandalism has
been an issue so the project has tried to find
Established 2007
ways of engaging those living around the
Key details Planting of Fruit and Nut Trees in Pub- planting sites to take interest in and act as
lic spaces 'guardians' of trees on their doorstep. Where
Further info http:// trees have been damaged or destroyed
www.transitiontowntotnes.org/ young people have been involved in replant-
groups/food-group/nut-tree-planting/
ing. The project hopes to continue expanding
The project involves planting and caring for and promoting public growing in Totnes.
trees in and around Totnes on public land, or
land open for public use. Initially this in-
volved nut trees and fruit trees. In the last
few years the project has linked with the
Transition Town Totnes Incredible Edible
Growing Project, which grew edible vegeta-
bles, herbs and flowers in public places. Both
forms of growing have now come together in
the planting of a Forest Garden in a public
arboretum during 2012/2013.
More than 300 trees have been planted in
and around Totnes since March 2007. At any
time there are about 50 volunteers involved
in the on-going care of the trees and other
edible growing in public places. Funding over Photo courtesy of: Transition Town Totnes Nut and Fruit tree project.
the years has come from many individual do- Chestnut tree on edge of playing field in
nors, Town and District Councils, Housing Totnes
Brighton & Hove Food Growing and Development
Location Brighton & Hove
Size Extent of County
Established 2011
Key details Planning guidance document on Food
Growing.
Further info www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/
A Planning Advice Note document has been
produced which contains basic technical
considerations, as well as case studies, on
how food growing can be incorporated into
proposals for new developments.
Planning Advice Note 6
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 23Bristol Food Network Get Growing Map
Location Bristol 2010, over the next couple of years it gained
Size City wide momentum and funding as its steering group
focused on engaging local groups, raising
Established 2010
awareness and populated the map with de-
Key details Map showing food projects. tailed information on projects in Bristol. The
Further info http://www.bristolfoodnetwork.org/local-
map continues to grow and is up dated by the
food-map/ Bristol Food Network.
This map is a resource for those who are in-
terested in local growing. The main aim of
the map is to pull together all the commu-
nity growing group information for Bristol
into one place. Allotment information is eas-
ily and clearly available via the Council web-
site, but finding out about other local edible
land initiatives was quite difficult - reliant
mostly on word-of-mouth and local knowl- Photo courtesy of: Avon Wildlife Trust.
edge. The map project sought to change
this. It started as an unfunded scheme in Feed Bristol
Burke Mountain Community Garden
Location British Columbia, Canada and Can You Dig It (an initiative tackles the
challenge of social isolation through garden-
Size 64 plots
ing). The garden is temporary, however all
Established April 2013 beds are mobile so can be moved to a new
Key details Garden sponsored by developer to site if necessary. There are 64 plots, 2 are
provide amenities for new residents. wheelchair accessible and 4 are “kid-
The community garden is a temporary
friendly” height beds. The garden was at ca-
use of the land, beds are completely
mobile and may be relocated to an pacity the day it opened. About 90% of the
adjacent site. The project aims to cre- gardeners are first-timers, the beds act as a
ate a space whereby local residents great learning introduction to growing food,
can come together and grow food. as well as building a community.
Further info www.thefoothillsatburke.com/about/
burke-community-garden/
www.shiftinggrowth.com www.cydi.ca
The garden creates a space for community
members to grow their own food within a
wider proposal for a large residential devel-
opment. It was sponsored by the developer
of the community to provide amenities for
new residents and delivered through a part-
nership between the site developer, Shifting
Growth (a charity who transforms vacant Photo courtesy of: Shifting Growth.
spaces into temporary community gardens)
Burke Mountain Community Garden
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 2410 Resources and Further Information
City & County of Swansea
Development Management and Control
The City and County of Swansea’s Develop-
ment Management and Control Team deal
with the regulation of land through the plan-
ning process. They offer advice on whether
planning permission is required, and are the
team which planning applications are sub-
mitted to. (01792)635701.
www.swansea.gov.uk/planning
Planning Policy
The Planning Policy Team is responsible for SPARK funky raised bed, Swansea
the preparation of the Council's Develop- Allotments
ment Plan, and is also engaged on a range of The City and County of Swansea provides
other strategic planning studies, area devel- and promotes as a valuable resource that
opment briefs and other forward planning should be maintained for future generations.
projects. The team provides guidance to de- www.swansea.gov.uk/index.cfm?
velopers, their agents and other relevant in- articleid=4974
dividuals/organisations on development po-
tential, and also advises on emerging legisla- Swansea Community Directory
tion, statutory procedures and relevant plan- The directory includes information on or-
ning policies at the national, regional and ganisations and services serving the commu-
local level. www.swansea.gov.uk/devplan nity in the Swansea area.
www.swanseacommunitydirectory.org.uk/
Grow Local
Swansea Council is encouraging our commu- Swansea Green Map
nities to grow their own food by funding a The interactive Swansea Green Map identi-
range of community-based growing projects fies over 200 locations in and around the City
with the aim of improving access to fresh and County that are helping to protect the
fruit and vegetables throughout the city. environment. Places like Nature Reserves,
http://www.swansea.gov.uk/growlocal recycling points, community projects and
shops that are working towards making
Swansea more sustainable.
http://www.sustainableswansea.net/green-
maps.html
The Environment Centre Swansea
The Environment Centre is an independent
charity whose focus is environmental infor-
mation, education and activity in South West
Wales.
www.environmentcentre.org.uk/
Flags at the Vetch, Swansea
Introductory Note: Urban Growing: Edible Land in Swansea 25You can also read
