The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has announced that funding to preserve and restore Britain’s largest and oldest surviving allotment has been confirmed.

St. Ann’s Allotments, in Nottingham, was provisionally awarded the sum of £1,895,000 with an additional £97,000 to help develop the project, in March 2005.  HLF has now approved a final application for additional funds to the project, bringing the total grant to almost £2.5 million.

St Ann’s Allotments date back to 1830 and are recognised as being the largest and oldest allotment site in the UK.  The £2,443,000 award will reverse decades of neglect, rescuing and preserving the remaining historic features, including one of the few Grade II listed garden sheds, plus several Victorian summerhouses and greenhouses. This will also provide lots of opportunities for the local community to get involved.

The allotments were originally created as detached town gardens and were used as retreats by wealthy families before much of Nottingham was built.  Times have changed and the allotments now lie within one of the most deprived areas of Nottingham, representing a rare green space in an area of high density inner city housing.

In recent years, the allotments have been blighted by vandalism and fly tipping and many of the historical structures have been damaged.  The plans include improved boundary fences, the repair and renovation of drives and historical structures, and clearance of overgrown pathways and unused sites. All will help to keep the gardens are safe and free from antisocial behaviour, encouraging residents to use and enjoy them to their full potential.

The gardens are well used and much loved by local people.  Of the 677 plots, 500 are actively used, covering an area of over 32 hectares, and 15 community organisations and charities regularly use the site.  Many local residents have vivid memories of the allotments from their childhood, and support for the restoration project has been strong throughout the planning process.  The improvement works will provide opportunities for local people to learn new skills to help them gain employment; for example building and horticultural skills.

The lottery money will also fund research into the social history of the site, and local residents are being asked to come forward with stories and pictures of the gardens. Ultimately, an archive of the histories of the individual plots and their gardeners will be created for the public to view and explore.   A programme of activities is also being planned to encourage more people in the local community to use and benefit from the gardens, as well as outreach work to help young people in the area learn about and appreciate the historical importance of the allotments.

Mike King of the Renewal Trust said, “A number of Social Economy Companies and Voluntary Groups, including the Renewal Trust, Groundwork Greater Nottingham, STAA Ltd, NECTA Ltd, Ecoworks and TANC Ltd have been working hard to develop our proposals for the restoration of this valuable heritage site.

"We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has approved this project which will allow for the preservation of the allotments for many years to come. In addition to the benefits that will be brought about by the physical restoration of the site this grant will enable us to build on the activities already taking place, to support the education, training and health of the local community and to bring into contact people from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds that would never associate otherwise.”

Councillor David Trimble, portfolio holder for Community and Culture said “We are delighted that this unique piece of living social history is being recognised and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. We are very pleased to have been able to support this exciting project in partnership with the St Ann’s Allotment consortium and we look forward to seeing the plans come to fruition.”

HLF’s Manager, in the East Midlands Emma Sayer said, “St Ann’s Allotments are a much loved and unique heritage gem in the heart of Nottingham.  This funding will vastly improve the gardens and offer them a secure future for generations to come. It’s a wonderful opportunity for people who live around the allotments, especially young people who may not have been able to visit before, to get involved in the activities planned and learn about why this place is so special. The project will truly benefit the local community, improving an already popular space for everyone to enjoy.”

This is the second HLF grant to the site.  The first, in 2002 for £22,000, funded a Conservation Management Plan which offered a full and detailed explanation of the sites; historical value, and was instrumental in developing the current proposals for the full scale restoration.