Bid to save allotments has failed, council says
Oliver Conopo/BBCNegotiations to save allotments in a Northamptonshire village have failed, a parish council said.
The Cross Family, the landowners of the site on Northampton Road in Brixworth, served plot holders a "notice to quit" last September.
Brixworth Parish Council and tenants of the allotments had presented a petition of over 1,000 signatures to Conservative-controlled West Northamptonshire Council in a bid to bring them into parish ownership and protect their future use.
However, the parish council said that "despite all efforts" its proposal to the Cross family was "not acceptable", adding that "an impasse has been reached".
The allotments are spread across four acres and date back to the 19th Century, with the earliest recorded mention being in a 1822 parliamentary document, Brixworth Allotment Association (BAA) said.
About 40 people tend the allotments, including retired people and young families.
Allotment holder and association member Ken Nikel said: "This is more than an allotment site, it is a community.
"Many of us have been tending these allotments for decades – we have friendships and support networks here.
"All the potential for education, and support for children and those with disadvantages will go. The loss of these allotments would be devastating."
Oliver Conopo/BBCJosie Flavell from Brixworth Parish Council clerk, said: "I have a duty to the ratepayers of Brixworth to ensure best value is achieved in all financial transactions.
"Regretfully the council’s valuers have advised that they could not recommend to the council the terms that would be needed to meet the expectations of the Cross family."
Parish councillor Tony Nixon said: "At a time when biodiversity is under extreme threat and food security of great concern, it seems unthinkable that this open space is likely to be removed.
"It is not just allotment holders who will be affected by this loss as excess produce from the site is distributed through our community larder."
Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.