Newport Pagnell Town Council are proposing to make the much-loved green space dog field at Burgess Gardens / Dulwich Close into gated allotments. 

Back in the 1980's when planning permission was first granted for Green Park, the dog field area at Burgess Park was originally allocated for allotments. For almost 40 years this was never taken up by the Town Council.  Unlike some permissions, this land use approval for allotments never expires.  Therefore, the Town Council is now proposing to take away this green space in favour of and to support a much smaller number of residents who wish to have an allotment plot.  Coincidentally, this is happening at the same time as other existing allotments are being considered for building development which the council is supporting.

The Town Council has already written to a limited number of residences in Burgess Gardens and Dulwich Close regarding possible car parking issues.  This proposal has otherwise not been widely publicised and will most likely to slip under the public radar. It will therefore proceed minimal or no public objection as the majority of Green Park residents will be totally unaware of this proposal until it is too late to be stopped.

You cannot underestimate how much the loss of this small green space will mean to Green Park residents and dog owners who appreciate it on a daily basis. There are no alternative enclosed dog excise spaces within the town and no alternative spaces within Green Park other than shared use of football fields or children's play spaces, both are clearly not ideal.  Are we supposed to get in our cars are drive to alternatives? Is this environmentally friendly and what the Town Council wants to promote? Is profit from land development being put before the wider interests of residents?

Please, please, please act and sign this petition and contact your local Town Councillor to let them know if your views about this change of land use.  Simply, it does not represent what is in the best interest of the wider community. The whole community will lose 365-day access to this space in favour of a fenced in area which is accessible by a select few. Yes, allotments are a good thing, but not if using land which is already appreciated by a much greater number of residents!

Questions submitted to the Town Council via email on 06 Sept 2021 - 

1.       The enclosed plot being considered for allotments at Burgess Park measures approximately 120m x 40m.  How many allotment plots is this expected to accommodate?

2.       Is there a waiting list for allotment plots and if so, how many are on the waiting list?

3.       What is the budget allocated to realise this proposal of allotments at Burgess Park? Does it include connection of mains water supply and taps at both ends of the field, fencing and gates, additional car parking, and public signs?

4.       What part of the Town Councils budget will this money come from and what are expected to be the ongoing maintenance costs?

5.       A leaflet was distributed to the residents of Dulwich Cl, Burgess Gdns, and Stanmore Gdns which totals 217 homes at the end of July and they were given 18 days to respond with their comments. Will the Town Council confirm how many replies were received back in total, and how many supported the proposal and how many expressed any form of concern. 

A full list of all comments received back would be most helpful and provide transparency to the public who attend this meeting.

6.       As pet ownership in the UK has an average of 1 in 5 households in the UK owning a pet dog ( source Pet Population 2021 | PFMA ) why have the wider residents of Green Park / Newport Pagnell not been given the opportunity to express their comments about the allotments proposal when daily walks often exceed 30 minutes and this field is the only space which is not also a football pitch or shared children’s play space.  There is no alternative public space in Green Park that provides a non-shared space for dog exercise, therefore there is very much a need for this space to serve a far greater number of residents than would be offered by allotment plots.

7.       The number of dog owners in Green Park alone will represent a minimum of 200 homes and an online petition to the council to save the dog field at Burgess Park has attracted 289 signatures in just 1 week ( https://www.change.org/SaveBurgessParkDogField ). If there is any form of democracy where each person has an equal vote or fair chance to express their view, then the Town Council has no alternative but to seek and assess the wider views of Green Park residents. To this end, the next edition of the “Town Talk” newsletter should invite comments about the allotment’s proposal and a period of at least 4 weeks to reply back with comments be given.  To ask the residents of only 3 streets that immediately back on to Burgess Park in not a fair public consultation and likewise, just 18 days to respond is insufficient when in the middle of the summer holiday period.

8.       Soil pollution by heavy metals in land immediately adjacent to major roads is well documented with many studies published on the internet. The M1 motorway has been open since 1959 and is just next to the proposed allotment space. Will the Town Council undertake independent soil analysis to verify the soil is safe for growing crops intended for human consumption?  A reliable resident has said MK Council did such tests some 2 or 3 decades ago and the soil lead levels were found to be too high for the land to be used as allotments.