Landshare is a great resource for councils to help them deliver on their obligations, and communicate with their constituents. This guide explains how councils can use Landshare to reach key targets and improve their local area.
Help with allotment waiting lists
Council allotments often have large waiting lists, with the council left in the position of being unable to provide allotments to everyone who needs one in their area. Councils could help reduce their allotment waiting lists by:
• Directing residents on the waiting list to Landshare to find alternative sources of land
• Accessing new sources of private land that they could rent and in turn offer as council allotments
• Using the organization functionality to make the status of the allotments public, and manage all inquiries, including the ability to make group announcements
Get help to regenerate allotments that have fallen into disuse
There are many keen growers and also helpers on Landshare who are willing to volunteer their labour to regenerate plots for use. Search for growers and helpers on the map to find people in your area, and search for derelict land in your area through LandSpot.
Deliver on Key Targets: NIs, NOs and BVPIs
Use Landshare to help deliver on National Indicators (NI), National Outcomes (NO) and Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPI), particularly in the areas of greenhouse gas emissions, waste, biodiversity, economic output, active community participation, environmental equality, wellbeing, food security and education.
Read a full list of NIs, NOs and BVPIs that Landshare can help your council achieve.
Create a Group Profile
Councils can now create their own organisation profile on Landshare which can be used as a council microsite for listing available land, finding growers, distributing news and enabling discussion. Start your own organisation profile that will give you the ability to:
- have your own URL
- communicate and be recognized for the positive steps you are taking
- list and events
- exchange ideas with residents, other councils and reputable organizations to help find solutions to barriers
- support your residents in this popular online space
- connect with related groups and organisations in your area
- promote groups of local growers in your area
Find out more about organisations here.
Find potential partners
Working with other organizations and growing groups could help you find ways to provide more allotments for your constituents. Search the Landshare groups and organisations to find local partners.
Access case studies and how to guides
Use our case studies to take advantage of what other councils and organizations have learnt and find concrete examples of the benefits that can be achieved. The how-do guides can also help councils find out about planning, finance and legal issues around providing land for growing.
Create listings
If you have land to offer, you can use the Landshare listings to list this land. Local growers will be able to respond to your listing securely, and you will be able to communicate with any applicants through the site, and have complete control over who you offer the land to. You may want to give priority to people who are already on your allotment waiting lists, which is fine. It's up to you who you offer your land to.
You don't need listings to get involved. If you don't have any land to share at the moment, you can still start your organisation profile and start communicating with your local growers.
Use Landshare to promote your land
There is a law in every country in the UK that allows local authorities to avoid the planning permission process and get land more quickly. In England and Wales Section 106 (S106) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 allows a local planning authority (LPA) to enter into a legally-binding agreement or planning obligation with a landowner in association with the granting of planning permission. The obligation is termed a Section 106 Agreement and can cover for developments such as open spaces, educational developments and health developments. The equivalent law in Scotland is Section 75 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1997 Scotland and in Northern Ireland it is Article 40 of the Planning Order 2003.
Landshare’s LetsGrow functionality allows interested growers to get together and submit a formal letter to your council to request allotments. This helps you to prove that there is a need for more growing space in your area, allowing you to make full use of these laws.
Get involved in an initiative applauded by the likes of:
• The House of Lords
• New Local Government Network
• Food Ethics Council
• Jim Mather MSP
There’s more that we can do
Get in touch with the Landshare Team at info@landshare.net if you have any queries or about further things we can support, like:
o co-ordinating residents’ interest in allotments with LetsGrow
o mapping all existing council growing spaces to help illustrate what you already achieve/ offer
o identifying derelict/ brownfield/ other disused land that could be suitable to be turned into growing use with LandSpot
