The Crediton Garden Share Scheme has now finished. If you are looking for a garden share we recommend that you contact the nationwide Landshare scheme.

History

The Crediton area garden share scheme was launched in association with Southwest Counties Allotment Association (SWCAA) in 2009 to match keen, enthusiastic, committed gardeners with local garden owners who wanted to see their gardens being used more productively.

Some basic points of the scheme

• It brought together people with a garden that they cannot look after and people who want a growing space.
• The garden owner offered an agreed part of their garden for a grower to grow produce.
• The gardener was responsible for their plot and shared an agreed proportion of the produce with the garden owner.
• The garden was accessible without going through the house.
• No money changed hands.
• Under the remit of the scheme the gardener was not available to undertake other gardening jobs such as trimming hedges, mow lawns or general upkeep.
• Gardeners were matched with gardens as close as possible to each other.
• Gardeners were asked to join South West Allotments Association (SWAAA) as a member (currently £2 a year) to cover them for public liability insurance in the garden they work in.
• The garden owner did not take any responsibility or liability for vehicles, persons, crops or personal possessions on site.

Interested participants were contacted and asked to complete a questionnaire to find out their preferences and wishes. When a suitable match was found the gardener and garden owner signed an agreement in order to provide an understanding and an outline of the agreement they are undertaking. 

We were contacted by 39 people, visited 25 suitable gardens and gardeners and successfully matched up 5. Some garden owners found their own matches and several gardenrs were allocated allotments before a suitable garden could be found.

SWCAA

If you are interested in finding out more about SWCAA and how it can benefit gardeners and allotment holders alike visit their website.

As well as public liability insurance SWCAA can provide many other benefits such as information and advice, a discounted seed scheme and other useful links.