Honiton Town Council reassure residents that the search for allotments is an ongoing process.

Residents in Honiton have received reassurances from Honiton Town Council that plans to find a suitable site for allotments in the town have ‘not been forgotten’.

The matter was raised during the council’s annual town meeting last week and residents were advised that it is an on-going process and a report was being prepared to look at all the options available to the town.

Councillor Mike Allen said: “We have not forgotten.”

He added: “One of the key things is very much about improving people’s ability sustain their own locality. That means we have to have volunteers and people who put forward land for allotments.

“We are either going to have land given to us or an offer of land at a pepper-corn rent or we will have to buy them.

“Frankly with the community complex there is no way the council can afford to put forward allotment space it has to come down to provision of a private site.”

Cllr Allen added: “It is not that people have stopped looking for a site and that we are not fully committed. We want them in the right place and financially it is a problem.”

The town mayor, Councillor Vernon Whitlock, told the meeting that the town council had allocated �7,000 in its reserves to go towards the provision of allotments once a suitable site is found.

Cllr Allen suggested looking at alternative options such as garden sharing or community garden schemes.

He said: “The real solution is finding small plots of land around the place rather than going for the big guns with a huge space as I do not think we will get that in the foreseeable future.”

Councillor Sharon Pavey added: “We have liaised with the allotment association and other people in the town. We are doing a lot of hard work behind the scenes.”

Anyone with suggestions is urged to contact the council.