Up and down the country public land is being left unloved,

costing our local authorities money to care for, and giving nothing back to the community in return. Incredible Edible growers have shown that with a little TLC these parcels of land can be turned into oases for food and wildlife.

Red tape and complex leases often stop communities from making good use of public land, not to mention the fact that it can be incredibly hard to find out where exactly this unloved public land is.

It’s time we were afforded a Right to Grow; an opportunity to take up our seed packets, spades and watering cans, and nourish our communities, without all the hoop-jumping.

A Right to Grow would require local authorities to maintain a free, accessible map of all public land that is suitable for community cultivation or wildlife projects. They would also need to make it straight-forward for community groups to secure free leases to cultivate the land, and allow those groups to bid for the land should the authority decide to sell it.

The Right to Grow is gathering political traction and received broad support in a debate in the House of Lords. It is also gathering traction at local levels, with Hull passing a Right to Grow motion, and several other local authorities looking into how they could implement a Right to Grow.

For the latest news on our Right to Grow campaign, click here.