Hundreds sign petition to save community orchard

A community orchard which every year produces almost two tonnes of organic fruit and is said to be a lifeline for many, could be at risk unless officials help with a plan to save it, campaigners have warned.

Volunteers at Bowling Park Community Orchard have said years of uncertainty and rising costs have put pressure on a project they described as vital to local wellbeing.

The group has presented a petition to councillors calling for the site to be formally recognised, with campaigner Julia Pearson saying: "All we want is to ensure a sound foundation for the next generation of the orchard."

Councillors have voted to refer the petition to the decision-making executive for further consideration.

Presenting the petition containing hundreds of signatures to councillors, Ms Pearson said volunteers wanted the project to be supported as a community space.

The orchard was created in 2003 after volunteers were asked by the council to step in to reclaim derelict allotment plots, she explained.

"We created it at a time of need for them and we designed it as a community space," she said.

"We now have an obligation to maintain it as a community space and we want that effort to be recognised and supported."

Ms Pearson explained that the orchard now spanned nine former allotment plots and contained about 50 fruit trees.

Harvests ran from July to April, with nearly two tonnes of organic fruit picked this year alone, according to volunteers.

An Apple Day celebration in October drew more than 500 people, they added.

However, campaigners said they had received a 723% rent increase over the past two years, and warned the rise was unsustainable and risked forcing the orchard's closure.

Reverting the plots to individual use, as had been suggested, would require clearing the trees at an estimated cost of more than £20,000, they said.

The petition comes amid a wider shake-up of Bradford Council's allotment services, which has included proposals to offer temporary rent-free plots to try to get overgrown and neglected sites back into use.

A previous petition had accused the cash-strapped local authority of neglecting the green spaces.

Ms Pearson said the Bowling Park project faced particular pressures because of its scale and responsibilities.

"As a community setting, we have greater obligation to this sort of infrastructure than you do as an individual plot-holder," she said.

"We happily fundraise all year for stuff, but we need to be focusing on what we're providing here."

The orchard relied on volunteering and goodwill to function, with a core team of about 20 helping out regularly, and helpers ranging in age from teens to pensioners, Ms Pearson said.

Terry Brass, 79, who has volunteered at the site since 2009, said: "I'm probably the oldest volunteer here and I just love coming here.

"It's great for my mental health, great for my physical health. The fact that I'm 79 and still doing it probably counts for something."

Fellow gardener Vivien Leach said the orchard offered opportunities beyond traditional allotments.

"We want to save the orchard because it's an amazing resource," she said.

"It's an opportunity to learn things, do something useful and constructive.

"I've got my own allotment elsewhere, but come here to learn about the apples and meet new people."

Amanda Smith, who brings school groups to the site as part of her work with the Bradford Environmental Education Service project said: "It just provides so much opportunity for learning about food growing and for local children to be able to have contact with wildlife and learn practical skills."

At a meeting last week, campaigners told councillors that rents for the nine plots now totalled over £1,200 a year, a level they said was unsustainable for a volunteer-run project.

They warned councillors that without a new agreement, the orchard, and the food it produced, could be lost.

The BBC has asked Bradford Council for further comment.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.