Chamber and committees

Absolutely. That is a very good point.

You said that there are three sizes in Fife. Could you say a bit more about that?

In my role on this committee, I am beginning to realise that local authorities have many different strategies to look at. There are strategies and plans for many different things, but there is also a need for the integration that you are talking about, whereby the local food growing strategy can speak to the local authority’s climate strategy and the biodiversity strategy. It is about that holistic thinking.

I am going to bring in Marie McNair with our closing themes around community organisations, volunteering and planning.

I welcome our second panel of witnesses, some of whom are joining us remotely and some of whom are here in person. We have Sandy Paterson, assistant manager for food growing with Glasgow City Council; Amy Alcorn, green space programme co-ordinator with Scottish Borders Council; Marina Curran-Colthart, local biodiversity officer with Argyll and Bute Council; and Sinclair Laing, policy and strategy manager with Aberdeen City Council.

It would be helpful if members could direct their questions to a specific witness where possible, although I will be happy to bring in others who wish to contribute. I would be grateful if our witnesses who are online would type an R in the chat function in BlueJeans to indicate when they want to come in.

I will start the session with the first question. In last week’s session, in our visits and in the earlier session today, we have learned that there are huge benefits from people growing food in community growing spaces and allotments. I direct this question first to Marina Curran-Colthart. What are the main barriers that prevent local authorities from creating more allotments and community growing spaces?

Thanks for that response. That is an interesting point about food growing needing to be in the place-making standard—that could be a great help.

Amy Alcorn wants to come in.

It is very heartening to hear that so many different departments, groups and organisations are involved in the city food plan. Twenty years ago, I was working extensively in community food growing in New York, and at that time, there was not the same level of awareness and understanding that everybody needs to get behind that kind of work and to realise the massive benefits that it can bring to a city.

Marie McNair has a few more questions to ask.

I might have missed something there. The £50 per plot per annum is a charge to the plot holder. Does that money go back into the provision of new allotments? One issue that we are beginning to understand is that there are long waiting lists and not enough plots. What is the cost of providing allotments?

That is very helpful.

Thank you. It would be good to start measuring and properly understanding how important allotments and community growing spaces are.

Let us move on to another theme, which is on the impact of the 2015 act on allotment demand and provision. We might have covered some of that. I will bring in Miles Briggs.

Paul O’Brien wants to come in. I am mindful of time, so we will move on after that.

Thank you for that. We will move on to local food growing strategies and put questions mainly to Ian Woolard and Peter Duncan. I am curious to know to what extent you have been involved in development of local food strategies in Edinburgh and Fife.