Southwark’s decision is a recognition of the significant role urban food growing plays in providing habitat for nature, improving wellbeing and social connections and improving access to fresh fruit and veg in a cost-of-living crisis. It’s a bold step forward and reflects Southwark council’s commitment to future-proofing resident’s access to land.
What is the Right to Grow?
The Right to Grow is a piece of legislation developed by Incredible Edible that is being made available to councils to adopt and adapt to their local circumstances.
The Right to Grow requires local authorities to maintain a free, accessible map of all public land that is suitable for community cultivation or wildlife projects. And to make it straight-forward for community groups to secure free leases and allow those groups to bid for the land should the authority decide to sell it.
Councillor Portia Mwangangye, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Parks and Young People, said: “Our commitment to a Right to Grow approach builds on four years of council support for food growing and community gardening. In 2021, we launched the Allotment Expansion Guarantee, giving residents the right to create garden projects on Southwark housing estates. This has led to 21 new growing sites. We also support a borough-wide network of growers through training, events, and resource sharing, helping to connect people and projects across Southwark."
This landmark decision by Southwark council is the culmination of four years of groundwork laid by Southwark Council’s community gardening team, which has been identifying land for cultivation, supporting residents to get growing and building up a network for community growers across the borough.
Since they began in 2020, they have helped create 21 gardens with 241 food growing plots for residents to use, along with a busy programme of training sessions and events. They’re a thriving example of how even built-up inner-city boroughs can carve out pockets of land for food growing.
Pam Warhust, chair and founder of Incredible Edible says,“Having a Right to Grow on public land is of fundamental importance in the struggle for food justice and the leadership shown by Southwark councillors and officers is truly inspirational.”
Southwark Council’s Environment Scrutiny committee played a key role in passing this motion and is part of a broader endorsement of agroecological food production, and recognition of the UN and the Global Biodiversity Framework that is calling for transformative change in the food system and part of Southwark council’s climate change commitments.
What’s next
Capital Growth, a London food growing network, is working with Incredible Edible to support the London roll out of the Right to Grow.
They are forming a campaign group for activists, grassroots groups, councillors and council officers interested in adopting the Right to Grow in their local borough. This group will support each other through sharing ideas and knowledge of how to get the motion passed and make the policy work in practice.
If you’re interested in getting involved register your interest here A Right to Grow for London.