OKEHAMPTON'S Allotment Association is hopeful it can get full occupancy of a site in Exeter Road now it is safe from housing development.

Members of West Devon Borough Council have agreed that the allotment site, one of three in Okehampton, should be taken out of the proposals for the ten-year local development plan which is currently in the process of being finalised.

Acting chairperson of the Okehampton Allotment Association Ana Pulteney is certain that a strong campaign from the association, backed by West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett, helped sway the decision.

'We had a lot of positive meetings and we talked to the town council and the MP — using the democratic system helped us and the decision was fairly unanimous that the allotments should stay,' she said.

Mrs Pulteney, who is a landscape gardener but a newcomer to allotment gardening, said the site was so important because it would be 'a green lung in a concrete world'.

'At the moment, the land is banded on one side by housing but by 2011 there will be housing all around it.'

A total of 840 houses are due to be built in Okehampton over the next decade, the majority planned for the eastern side of the town.

Mrs Pulteney said allotment gardening was becoming more popular partly because the 'handkerchief-sized gardens' of new houses were not big enough to grow crops.

People were also more concerned now about what they were eating.

'You know the food is fresh, local and seasonal and you can produce it in such a way that you feel like eating it,' she said

'It is great exercise and if you have a healthier community, you are saving the NHS money.'

She said many people could walk to their allotment so a car journey was not necessary.

'People have more leisure time now and there is nothing like digging your plot after a stressful week at work.'

It was a great way to spend quality time with the family as they could all join in — some children even had their own mini-plots.

'I believe there is a surge of popularity for allotment gardening here in Okehampton and that is reflected by the amount of younger people who are taking on plots, added Mrs Pulteney, who has spent a lot of time promoting the allotments through her work with the West Devon Environmental Network's Sustainable Communities Project.

Allotments in Castle Road and North Road are fully occupied but at the moment there are about 15 out of a total of 40 plots free at the more challenging Exeter Road site, which was once 90 acres in size before a lot of it was lost to development in the 1970s.

It is the allotment association's aim to get the whole site in use this year.

It is hoped with the town council taking over the administration of the allotments, information and advice can be accessed easily and the site will be managed better.

Mrs Pulteney said the association hoped to work with the owners of the land, the Okehampton Non-Ecclesiastical Trust to offer incentives to people to take up allotments.

'Some of the plots are in a bad condition and have not been managed for three or four years,' she said. 'We are hoping the charity might waive the rent for a year so new allotment holders can get them into order.'

Anyone interested in taking on one of the plots can find out more by popping into the Okehampton Town Council offices or by telephoning 01837 53179.