The commitment towards implementing a ‘Right to Grow’ means underused public land could be repurposed to support food growing, orchards, edible planting, or wildlife, reports Marco Marcelline
Green-run Waltham Forest Council has announced its support for the ‘Right to Grow movement’, which gives communities the right to plant food and flowers on unused land.
Announcing the move at the annual Food Growers Network Harvest Fair at Leytonstone’s Good Shepherds Studios over the weekend, the council said it would hire a ‘community growing officer’ who will work with a network of local growers to implement the Right to Grow scheme.
The move means underused public land could be repurposed to support food growing, orchards, edible planting, or wildlife.
Councillor Sarah Bentley, who is cabinet member for climate and air quality, said: “Affording enough nutritious food is difficult for many and its being made even harder by the climate crisis.
“Through Right to Grow, we’ll work with residents to boost local food resilience while enhancing opportunities for nature connection, mental wellbeing and improving our local neighbourhoods.”
Pressure group Waltham Forest Right to Grow (WFRTG) has been campaigning on the issue for 18 months, with hundreds of people taking part in public protests and guerilla gardening activities across the borough.
The Echo understands that the exact implementation will be evaluated after a pilot period, but is likely to follow similar models as elsewhere.
In other boroughs such as Southwark, groups of residents are invited to apply for tenure over a piece of unused land, before a working group led by a community food growing officer then negotiates that tenure with the council and funding is granted.
The borough already has over 60 community food growing sites, including OrganicLea which acts as a regional training hub in organic horticulture.
A spokesperson for WFRTG said: “The Right to Grow could be just the start of an ambitious food strategy in Waltham Forest. The opportunities to work with schools, to change council procurement practises, to subsidise training, and to better channel existing resources are enormous.
“Members of the WFRTG want to see Waltham Forest as a flagship for how starting to transform the food system locally can not only provide immediate benefits to residents but be part of building the confidence of communities to mount a serious challenge the social forces causing climate collapse, the housing crisis, the genocide of Palestinians and a global economy built on exploitation.”
Read more: Campaigners urge council to allow residents to grow food on underused public land
Find out more about the Right to Grow movement here
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