Stan Pennington Allotment owners inform tenants to leave the site

Located on Alder Hey Road in Eccleston, the Stan Pennington Allotments have been a vital part of the community for the best part of 70 years and currently has 90 out of 93 allotment plots occupied.

Previously owned by Pilkington Glass Recreational Club, allotment holders say that a covenant was put in place to protect the land during the sale to former Second World War veteran and avid gardener Stan Pennington in 2012.

The covenant stated that the property should not be used for "any other purpose whatsoever except as allotments and ancillary horticultural activities", holders explained.

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Landowners give tenants 12 months to leave allotment site

Allotment holders said they have been told they need to vacate the premises in November (Image: Stan Pennington Allotments)

Following Stan's death, aged 93, in 2018, the property once again changed hands and the current landowners now want all of the allotment holders to vacate the premises.

The tenants say that the owners have exercised a break within the contract which allows them to end the lease with 12 months' notice, and they have been informed that they will need to leave the allotment site by November 2023.

Holders prepared to fight to save the allotments

The allotment site is also used by multiple community groups (Image: Stan Pennington Allotments)

With allotments long acknowledged for their environmental, social, and mental health benefits, the decision to take back the land has caused uproar within the community.

As allotment plots are also an affordable option to grow fresh produce during the cost of living crisis, and there are huge waiting lists on council-run allotment sites, the tenants have decided to fight back to save the land and see it as a matter of urgency.

Tenants also point to the use of the allotment by community groups such as St Helens Council Day Opportunities, the North West Stroke Association, and the St Helens Coalition of Disabled People as examples of its social value.

In their attempt to save the Stan Pennington Allotments, the tenants have formed an action group, distributed leaflets, and set up an online petition to try and gather as much support as possible.

The petition, which aims to put pressure on the allotment owners to change their minds and gain the support of St Helens Council, currently has more than 1,500 signatures.

Attempt to register land as a community asset

Allotment holders are trying to save the land (Image: Stan Pennington Allotments)

Highlighting the necessity of the allotment in the community, the tenants are attempting to register the land as an 'Asset of Community Value' with St Helens Council.

This means that while the landowners can still sell the land, the community group that nominated the asset can register its interest as a potential bidder.

A six-month moratorium period is then triggered, tenants tell me, where landowners can only sell to the community group, subject to certain exceptions, until the six-month period runs out.

Allotment holders 'upset and disgruntled'

Tenants are concerned as there are large waiting lists on council run allotments (Image: St Helens Federation of Allotment Holders)

One of the allotment holders, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "Everybody was just so upset and disgruntled when we were first told that we will need to leave.

"Allotments are such a good thing in the community; people can enjoy the fresh air and social setting, and they are a big thing for people's mental health.

"It would be such a shame to see it go so we don't want to give it up without a fight."

The 'Save Stan Pennington Allotments' petition can be found here.