Brandon Estate residents will be donning their gloves and grabbing their spades this spring, thanks to the construction of garden allotments on the estate’s grounds, writes Herbie Russell…
With funding from Southwark Council’s ‘Great Estates’ programme, the Brandon 1 Tenant’s and Resident’s Association (TRA) has worked with the local council to build the new allotments.
A gardening group has been formed to use them, with a different Brandon Estate resident responsible for each of the ten plots.
Giovanni Zintu, a Brandon Estate resident and keen gardener who grew up on a farm in Sardinia said: “I’d just moved here and was walking my dog and the gardening group was holding a fermentation workshop.
“I stopped and had a chat and got involved. It was brilliant for being welcomed and for feeling part of the community.”
Older wooden planters were built in 2011 but are already beginning to rot so the new allotments have been built with sustainability in mind.
They are made of long-lasting brick, feature a clever irrigation system and have water butts anchored to the ground to deter thieves.
Building the allotments wasn’t easy because the ground sits on a WWII bomb site. So, just inches below the topsoil, there is long-forgotten bombsite debris. Tom Lloyd joked: “We were worried we might hit some of Hitler’s unexploded bombs with the jackhammer.”
Thankfully, any buried doodlebugs were safely avoided.
Tom Lloyd, chair of the Brandon One TRA said: “We’re not ace gardeners. We’re better at drinking beers than we are gardening.
“Nobody is growing prize melons to show at Chelsea. It’s about making a garden and seeing what happens.”
The Brandon Estate sits in Newington, one of the Southwark’s most diverse areas, and this is reflected in the club’s membership.
Every day people from Britain, Colombia, Russia, Jamaica, Romania and Sardinia descend their tower blocks, working together to grow brocolli, spinach, fennel, mizuna and more.
In exchange for a plot, residents help out with gardening work around the estate. For those wanting to secure a plot, the allotments are opened up to newcomers on an annual basis.
As part of the Great Estates programme funding, the TRA has also worked with the council to install covers around the recycling bins to prevent rubbish blowing across the estate. Flowers have also been planted in front of several blocks.
Launched in 2019, Southwark Council’s ‘Great Estates’ initiative, has aimed to give residents a voice in how their estates can be improved through consultation and funding.