Princes Place

The Princes Place allotment was was a disused former allotment site that was identified in the John Thompson report as a potential site for housing redevelopment, but was eventually rejected because of issues relating to the restricted access.

Stanmore Combined have for some time supported the idea of bringing the site back into some form of community use and as a result have engaged with representatives from various groups and organisations and include Winchester City Council, Hampshire County Council, Stanmore Primary School, Hampshire PCT and others such as Sparsholt College, Stanmore Allotment Holders and the Carroll Centre to determine what might be done.

The proposal is to develop a community growing space, which essentially will be a combination of allotment plots, which people can hire and other areas where people can come and ‘have a go’ under the supervision of someone who knows about growing things. These spaces will be open to the whole community and will encourage groups such as local schools or an OAP group to try some digging and planting and enjoy the fresh air. Before that happens however, much work has still to be done. The project has made significant progress recently thanks to the support of A2 Housing who covered the cost of clearing the site and also to Winchester City Council have funded the cost of new fencing at the entrance to the site; will prepare, mark and lay out the site, including the provision of raised beds for elderley and disabled users; and will also cover the costs of providing a water supply to the site. In the meantime it is intended to secure further funding to enable a P/T coordinator to be employed to manage the site and to cover the costs of providing, storage, plants and equipment etc.

For more information on the project please contact:

Mike Gardner (chairman)
c/o St Luke’s Vicarage
Mildmay Street
Stanmore
Winchester
S022 4BX
Tel: 01962 865240
Email: revd.mike@yahoo.co.uk