Save Kemble Community Gardens

Sign the Petition

Many villagers have raised with me the issue of the future of the Kemble Community Gardens.

I recently attended a CDC meeting and asked the Leader of the Council about CDC’s intentions for the site. He told me that the Council is reviewing the site’s future as it’s proving difficult to deliver affordable housing there.

CDC will make a final decision on the site in January.

I believe we should retain the Kemble Community Gardens as it is – a great asset for our local community.

There is also a fantastic opportunity to enhance the site further to encourage more wildlife and biodiversity but also to provide space to grow our own food.

I’m a passionate believer in the need for more affordable housing – but on a site which is difficult to develop and would mean we lose an important community asset, on this occasion I think that there are better options for affordable housing.

We’ve got a unique opportunity to save our community gardens:

Background

The Kemble Community Gardens site is owned by Cotswold District Council and for the past few years has been identified as a site for housing in the area’s ‘Local Plan’.

A Local Plan sets out the vision for future development in the borough. Every area in England and Wales should have an up-to-date Local Plan in place and review it at least every five years.

The District Council have been looking at how they can deliver affordable housing on part of the site for several years, to date, no progress has been made in advancing this ambition owing to what Cotswold District Council have called ‘constraints on the site’.

At a recent Council meeting, the Leader of Cotswold District Council stated that the Council were reviewing what they would do with the site in future with a final decision being made in the new year.

Photos

Here are some photos I took recently at the community gardens, click to see the images in a larger slide show, it’s very beautiful: