Controversial Roots Allotment site 'doesn't need planning permission', owners insist
Richard Payne spoke to Roots and local opponents in Abbots Leigh
The operators of a controversial allotment site near Bristol have disputed demands that they must apply for planning permission to stay open.Roots Allotments told ITV News that North Somerset Council has made a U-turn in asking for new approval for them to operate in Abbots Leigh.
A deadline to comply by Thursday 15 August has been extended as talks between the parties continue.Roots co-founder Will Gay said: "We'll obviously push back on some of the more miscellaneous and strange items.
"The message we've been receiving from other councils around the country is that 99% of the items here do not need planning.
"We're liaising with our planning firm who will go back to the council and discuss the items that they've requested us to apply for."
He added: "This business is perfect, you get local people eating local food, it's a great use of agricultural land and it's getting people outside reconnecting with nature."
North Somerset Council initially granted Roots a certificate of lawfulness, but it is now demanding the operators apply for planning permission retrospectively.It's thought items including water troughs, matting to form an access track, and the siting of a metal container need permission from the local authority.
Around 3,000 people have signed a petition opposing the site on land owned by the former tobacco family, Wills.
It borders the busy A369 and critics say the access is inadequate to cope with the demands of traffic.
Simon Talbot-Ponsonby, chairman of Abbots Leigh Parish Council, claimed: "All the way through, Roots have felt that they know better. They feel that they don't need planning and they just go ahead regardless.
"They don't really care what local people say. I just can't help remembering what it was like, a beautiful meadow and then I look at it now and, to be quite honest, it's a mess." The company estimates they'll spend £400,000 on this site with money from venture capitalists.
They say their hostile reception, which they claim has included a car dumped at their entrance and concrete poured into padlocks, is unwarranted and won't deter them.
Fellow co-founder Christian Samuel said: "I think we have tried to hear people out, understand people's concerns to the best of our ability and do as much work around that as possible.
"There are thousands of people on waiting lists. People have snapped up all of these wonderful plots to grow their own fruit and veg and we're disappointed to see the council has U-turned once again."A statement from North Somerset Council read: “We granted Roots a Certificate of Lawfulness in November 2023 to use the land for allotments.
"Since then a number of additional elements have been introduced at the site which we believe do require planning permission. We have notified them of this requirement .... to apply for planning permission retrospectively."