Back in March we reported online how the Council's Transport, Infrastructure and Environment Commitee were consulting on the extension of allotments in the city.
Parts of King George V and Pilrig Parks were being considered for this purpose.
The consultation period is now over, and – presumably based on the findings – the new draft strategy Cultivating Communities (going before committee for approval on 27 July but already seen by Spurtle) does not recommend Pilrig Park for this purpose 'at this time' (2010–15).
The future of St Mark's Park is less clear, with officials proposing to carry out further public consultation. (One suspects they will keep consulting until the public finally comes up with the 'right' responses.)
The campaign group Greener Leith opposed the proposals for Pilrig and St Mark's Parks, arguing that the public greatly valued what little open green space it had in the area. Greener Leith would have preferred to see new allotment sites opened elsewhere, for example as part of Dock developments. Greener Leith also reports that allotment rental charges are set to rise to £100 p.a. by 2015, with the Council making a profit from them by 2012.
Close reading of Cultivating Communities reveals some interesting demographics. In 2002, the least likely person to rent an allotment in Edinburgh was a disabled Chinese man aged under 24; in 2007, it was a similarly aged and disabled Black Caribbean man. However, in both 2002 and 2007, the person most likely to rent an Edinburgh allotment was an able-bodied white woman aged over 55. Make of this what you will ... vegetable soup, perhaps.