Article created : 25/05/2010

RCCE are pleased to again be working in partnership with Essex County Council’s (ECC) Environment Team on delivering further environmental projects to parishes.

Previous years have seen RCCE involved with the Essex Tree Initiative and Local Wildlife sites within a “Living Landscape” area. This year we will be involved in the renovation or establishment of community allotments and orchards.

In previous years RCCE has been involved in ECC’s Essex Tree Initiative, allocating 25,000 trees and hedging plants to 46 parishes or settlements throughout the county and has worked with parishes that have Local Wildlife Sites (LoWS) or are within a “Living Landscape” area; providing assistance to 22 parishes with pond restoration, planting hedgerows to connect remote woodlands and conservation sites, and establishing more grassland environments.

This year ECC’s pledge is all to do with creating new and supporting existing community allotment and orchard sites. Various organisations will again be involved in helping ECC to fulfil this undertaking. RCCE is looking forward to providing support to 20 parishes with the establishment or renovation of community allotment or orchard sites. The support that RCCE is offering is in two ways, depending on whether the parish or council is looking at allotments or orchards.

For allotments it will be by the delivery of a small grant to help establish or renovate up to 10 community allotment sites. It is envisaged that the small grant fund will be for groups to buy or hire equipment and tools that are necessary for the preparation/planting or harvesting of crops on allotments or for working the land in preparation for new or existing allotment patches, however the fund will not be available for any land purchase, core costs such as staff or legal fees.

For orchards we will be looking at allocating fruit trees (pear, apple and plum) for up to 10 community orchards. For orchard sites to be eligible they must be accessible by the public and we are looking to use Essex varieties of fruit trees where possible. There doesn’t need to be an existing orchard on site but the land does need to already be in parish (or a community groups) ownership - whether given, existing or bought.

As well as RCCE, there are also other organisations offering support in a range of areas; available for parishes and groups - with help on hand from BTCV leading volunteer groups and expert conservation advice from Essex Biodiversity Project, we hope that there will be more allotments and orchards across Essex soon!

If your parish council, village hall management committee, parochial church council or other community group is interested in the community allotment and orchard project, please contact Sarah Sapsford at RCCE to discuss your potential ideas. Sarah.sapsford@essexrcc.org.uk