Elder Stubbs Allotments were an
award to the poor of Cowley under the Inclosure Act of 1852 in
compensation for the enclosure and subsequent loss
of their Common on Shotover.
150 years later the charity
still provides over 100 allotments for local residents. In addition it
has diversified by letting tenancies to other charities with similar
aims to itself.
However the picture hasn't
always been this rosy: in the late 1980's Elder Stubbs Charity had
reached a critical position, with 70% of the land lying derelict,
fences down, gates broken and unlocked (giving unlimited access for the
public to dump unwanted household appliances and rubbish); there were
no hedgerows and the surviving allottees cultivated their plots among
uncut paths and a surrounding mass of seeding weeds. The disposable
income of the Charity was £75 per annum and its only asset, the
land, had become an embarrassing liability. The likely outcome seemed
to be that the Charity would be wound up.
The Chairman of the time
however, proposed that the Charity should instead seek a new Trust
Deed which would enable it to develop some of its land. The initial
idea was to provide housing for Cowley people on low incomes, with a
warden's flat for someone to take care of the site. The rents from the
development were to be used to upgrade and maintain the site. However, planning permission for this scheme was eventually
denied due to changes
in policy by central Government and the City Council . Ultimately the
Cricket Road frontage of the northern field was sold to a developer
(with 30% of the sale price going to the City Council as "planning
gain", in return for permission). The remaining monies, a
substantial sum, were invested as ethically as possible in order to
secure the future of the site and the Charity. This included making the
post of Clerk to the Trustees a salaried one.
Meantime other developments were
occurring, the most significant of which were the recruitment of a
dedicated team of volunteers, and the move of the horticultural therapy
project run by RESTORE from Littlemore Psychiatric Hospital (which was
scheduled for closure) to the Elder Stubbs site. There was initially
some resistance from long established allottees to sharing the site
with the project, but by careful introduction and sheer hard work (the
group began by clearing 8 foot high brambles and years of discarded
household rubbish) an excellent relationship was established which
continues to this day.
At this stage both charities
began to attract awards and grants (see Awards page), enabling more
work and planting to be done on the site, and allowing RESTORE to put
up several buildings to house the project, including, storage,
workshops and a kitchen.
A later development
was the setting up of a joint project on the north field with "the
Porch", later called "Steppin' Stone" to provide opportunities for the
cultivation of vegetables for use in its day centre for the long-term
homeless and unemployed. Elder Stubbs provided a water supply, a secure
storage unit, a poly-tunnel and financial support for a salaried
Project leader. This group quickly brought a considerable, previously
unused area into full-scale production.
In conclusion, the Trustees'
support and vision, the work of our volunteers, support from the
community and close co-operation with RESTORE and Steppin' Stone has
enabled us to reverse completely
the situation that faced us and set
the Charity on a proper administrative and fiscal basis which enables
it to do the charitable work which is its proper purpose.