A trifle patronising by the Oldham Chronicle but another sign of the times.
Bulldozers plough through allotments
by GEOFF WOOD
A DAD’S Army brigade of gardeners is at war with the landowners who bulldozed their allotments.
The site in Hanging Chadder Lane, Royton, was a haven for the greenfingered enthusiasts. They tended their vegetables and chatted away to each other.
But now the men, aged 50 to 85, are seeing red after three of the four allotments disappeared under the wheels of a bulldozer.
The trouble started when the land on which the allotments stood changed hands.
Plans were laid for future housing development and then, after little more than a week, a bulldozer moved in.
The biggest casualty was the oldest gardener, Jim Winterbottom (85), of near by Springfield Lane, who was the most active of the lot.
The ex-farmer used five sheds on the land to store his tools, which were valued at £500.
Then came the enemy bulldozing the land, the sheds and the tools, and setting fire to them to clear the patch.
Other gardeners using the allotment area suffered a similar fate.
But the mystery landowners never explained to Jim and his friends what was going on or why.
Jim said: “I do miss the time I spent on the allotment. I had been going to it for 20 years. And another man had been there for 50 years.”
“I don’t need this sort of hassle at my age and I don’t know how I stand since I just used the land rather than owned it.”
Mystery still surrounds the ownership of the area and while near-by residents have been told it is earmarked for housing, Oldham Council has not received any planning application.
Despite exhaustive inquiries by the Evening Chronicle, the owners of the land or those responsible for flattening it could not be traced.
Solicitor John Ainley of North Ainley Halliwell said: “They should have been given notice. It may well be that the gardeners have some possessory rights over the land.
“I would suggest that they seek urgent legal advice on this matter.”
One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “I feel Mr Winterbottom has been very badly treated.
“This situation should not have happened. I don’t think anybody had the right to do this.”
PS. I know I don't live in Oldham anymore but I do like to read the local paper on-line
