New Hounslow allotments to teach children about healthy living

A west London council is transforming wasteland into new allotments and orchards to teach children about healthy living and the environment.

Hounslow Council said the "first-of-its-kind" policy would involve cultivating 27 acres of unused land.

Each new site will be paired with a local school to teach children where food comes from.

The land, which the council says is "used for little more than fly-tipping" is currently inaccessible.

The scheme, the Grow for the Future project, will initially involve unused council-owned land.

However, in 2025 the council will start assessing unused and inaccessible private land that could also be leased or purchased and opened up to the public and schools as community growing spaces and orchards.

Councillor Salman Shaheen, Hounslow Council cabinet member for parks, said: "Grow for the Future will provide hundreds of new growing spaces for Hounslow's residents to put food on their plates.

"Land once going to waste will be repurposed to educate children on leading healthy lives and how to grow nutritious fruit and veg. And what our schools grow, they can donate to feed vulnerable children missing out on free school meals as the cost-of-living crisis bites."

Hounslow Council said that demand for allotments continued to outstrip supply despite the borough having one of the largest portfolios of allotments in London, with a total of about 1,950 plots.

There are currently 952 residents on Hounslow Council's allotments waiting list.

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