Owing to faults in the economic system whereby the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, 1% of the people in Britain now own 75% of the land.
That is the problem.
Bradford City Council has successfully acquired a seven and a half acre field site, which is being developed as a community garden. It belongs to the community and is being run on permaculture principles, to involve all the people in the creation of the garden. Everyone is involved in its creation, from the nursery school children to old age pensioners. There is no vandalism because school children are involved in its care and maintenance, and are entitled to a share in the produce.
That could be a model for a solution.
My suggestion is that the Prince of Wales should introduce a scheme whereby rich landowners would be encouraged to donate land for community gardens to the people of towns and villages nearby.
A prestige event could be organised each year, with television programmes showing the develpment of the best community gardens. This could be a modern imitation of the alms houses of old.
It should be an annual event, and television coverage could show the progress of other community gardens donated in previous years. The winner of the award should be granted a high level of prestige.
Land reform is the true answer to the problem, but my idea could provide an interim solution.
Once this scheme were established, county councils might discover that they possessed bits of land that could be used in the same way.
- Patricia Knox, Pen Llywenan, Bodedern, Holyhead, Gwynedd LL65 4TS, Wales (tel 01407 740767).
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