ALLOTMENT holders in York are celebrating after winning a £52,000 Lottery grant to transform their site.

The cash from the Big Lottery Reaching Communities Fund will be used to revamp Bootham Stray allotments by providing secure site fencing and improved land drains, building easy access plots for gardeners with disabilities, creating community and school plots and a central social area with site cabin and a compost toilet.

Starting on July 1, the two-year project, called Fresh Start, will bring in a part-time garden mentor to work with school groups, organise skill sharing sessions and help support the allotment association when it holds open days and other events.

Andrea McCartney, chairman of the Bootham Stray Allotments Association, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the Big Lottery Grant. It means we can finally make some long overdue improvements that will benefit everyone who gardens there at the moment, as well as creating a place the local community can be proud of.”

In its heyday in the 1950s the allotments in Wigginton Road were three times their current size, with 300 allotment gardens lined with pig sties and pigeon lofts.

Dave Meigh, head of parks and open spaces at City of York Council, said: “The funding will enable us to transform Bootham Stray allotments and make it even more accessible for residents across the city.

“The enthusiastic new allotment association has lots of ideas about how to give the allotment site a fresh start. Thanks to the Big Lottery Grant they can now put their ideas into action.”