Letter concerning Allotments in Stoke Ferry

For the past 18 years I have tended an allotment behind the cemetery in Stoke Ferry at the invitation of the allotment holder, the allotments are on private “allotment” land and have been tended by many local people before me, many villagers use the land to walk their dogs and have done so for many years.

I work full time and can only work on the land at weekends, the first weekend in May I found that the land was being fenced off with no prior notice of any kind, my Husband spoke to the men who were erecting the fencing and was told that a locked gate would be placed at the bottom of the track and that another allotment holder would have a key, my husband asked that I be allowed to harvest the crops which I had already planted, potatoes, onions, shallots, and also have access to remove my tools from the shed on the land.  He gave our contact details to the gentleman, Paul Blake who is connected to one of the owners of the land who seem to be located variously inNorwich,BristolandLondon.

We have received no response whatsoever, the fencing has been completed running along Furlong Drove to the Cemetery and along the back perimeter of the cemetery, the gate padlocked and access completely denied to me after 18 years, they have my crops and my tools.  I have written to the Solicitors acting for the owners but to date have not received the courtesy of a reply.

I can only guess that these outsiders intend to apply for planning permission to build houses outside the Village “envelope”, but what purpose does it serve to ignore my request, whilst I cannot deny they have every right to deal with their land as they choose surely to deny me access to harvest my crops and collect my tools is heavy handed and unjust.

I wanted the Village to know what kind of people have erected the fencing, gates and notices saying “Private – Keep out” around land which has provided pleasure over the years to the villagers.

Jean Lamb