Developments
From around a dozen members to over fifty in five years; here is what we are building so that everyone can reach the site and garden it.
Five years ago the society was around a dozen people; today we are over fifty. More members means more ways of arriving at the site, on foot, with a pram, with a wheelbarrow, or in a wheelchair. Most of what follows comes from one decision: that as we grew, the community plot had to work for everyone.
The lottery project
In October 2024 the National Lottery Community Fund awarded us £16,000 to improve access to Plot 30, our community plot, for members who are less mobile. We did not get there alone. The Allotment Advisory Group pointed us to the South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau, and after meeting them we became a good deal more ambitious. (SYFAB is open to any community group; if yours is chasing funding, they are worth a look.)
The problem was the entrance. The old steps were steep and wobbly: hard with a wheelbarrow, harder with a pram, impossible with a wheelchair. In early December 2024, in about a week of works, the steps were replaced with a 7.8-metre textured-concrete ramp with a full-length handrail, sized for wheelbarrows and laid with wheelchairs and mobility scooters in mind; it is far more accessible than the old steps. The gate went too, replaced with a secure metal one widened to a full metre.
The rest of the grant went on the plot itself: raised beds built from sleepers near the polytunnel, a two-bay compost structure, and a fruit frame of posts and wires where an old privet hedge came out, so fruit can be trained upwards rather than picked at a crouch. The community hut was re-floored inside, and the broken concrete around it gave way to nine metres of non-slip flags. The whole membership was consulted on the plans and the choice of contractor before a spade went in; the contractors, for their part, scraped the car park back to its original hard standing while they had the digger out.
Support from Wickes
A past donation from the Wickes Community Programme gave us the materials to build an accessible raised bed on the community plot. We are now talking to Wickes about how they might support us further. Nothing is agreed yet; if that changes, you will read about it here.
What we’re working on now
Everything in this section is an application or a plan, not money in the bank.
The tool store first. It has been broken into more than once and shared tools stolen, so we have been preparing an application to the People’s Postcode Lottery Grassroots Grants for better security: a steel lock box, a reinforced shed, and high-security padlocks with large-grip keys, chosen so that keeping thieves out does not keep members out too.
We are also applying to the Freshgate Trust for a walkway on the community plot. Better paths to Plot 30 have been on the wishlist since the lottery project; the ramp gets you through the gate, and a decent path should take you the rest of the way.
Two more things are in hand. A working group of members is developing plans for a composting toilet, weighing cost, location, maintenance, installation and, again, accessibility. And more raised beds on legs are planned, built at waist height so they can be gardened from a wheelchair; volunteers put up the first one in September 2024.
Room for everyone
Not everyone wants a full allotment plot, and not everyone can manage one; neither should keep anybody from growing. On the community plot we keep continuity beds: free growing beds for members who can no longer manage a full plot and for people just starting out. They are not charged for and never will be. They are usually spoken for, but if one would suit you, email rvascontact@gmail.com and tell us.
The wider site also has smaller starter plots, a gentler way in than a full plot. Plots themselves are let by Sheffield City Council rather than by the society, so the council’s allotments page is the place to begin. Once you have a plot, the society will be glad to have you; joining takes one email.