Community allotments all allocated in Kells

Kells residents have been out in force over the past few weeks tending to their new allotments at Loyd, where up to 50 individuals and families will be growing their own fruit and vegetables this year. According to Andy Bogie, chairperson of the Kells Community Allotments Group, there are now 51 allotments in total and there has been a huge uptake of them by young and old alike. He said people who have taken plots include people of all age groups, both genders, and a mixture of people who have jobs, are unemployed, on short-time working or are self employed. Kells Town Council had originally planned to start up and administer the allotments but, due to prohibitive start-up costs and the difficulties in the public finances, they could not afford to run with a scheme in 2010. However, the council agreed to allocate two acres of agricultural land at Loyd to the allotments group, as well as agreeing to provide them with a perimeter fence. Cllr Tommy Grimes said he was delighted to see so many people taking up the plots and said there was great camaraderie among the plot-holders. "Everybody is very happy with the arrangement and it is a great boost to the town," he said, "It brings back memories of the potato plots and, before that, the cow and calf scheme." Cllr Grimes paid tribute to council officials who had worked extremely hard with all concerned to ensure the allotments became a reality. He said that if people are disappointed because all the plots are gone, he was sure it would be possible to extend the scheme at some point.