SPRING has certainly arrived for the members of the Fatherford Road Allotments Association who were celebrating last week after recieving a substantial grant from the National Lottery?s Awards for All programme. The grant of £3,248 will allow the association to plant a Devon-specific apple and plum orchard. The money will also be spent erecting and outfitting a large communal shed to be used for education and storage and to plant bushes and shrubs along both sides of the entrance to the allotments. Members of the association and other plot holders numbering around 50 people will benefit greatly from the enhancements. Planting along the entranceway will improve the appearance as people arrive at the allotments and the shed will be used for educational and communication purposes. The orchard will be used as a learning experience for growing fruit trees, as well as a chance to make cider and eat and cook with varieties long gone from the supermarket shelves. Group spokesmen Tony Dion said: ?We are thrilled to get this award. ?For a group like ours this is a large sum of money ?and it will allow us to help our allotment community. ?We?ve worked very hard to develop this project and to write this application. Now we have got the money, it is time for the real work to start.?
