We, the undersigned, support a Right to Grow in Liverpool.

In September 2023 Hull was the first city to pass the Incredible Edible Right to Grow motion. Liverpool City Council can build on the recent Sustainable Food Places Bronze Award by similarly ensuring a Right to Grow in the city.

Actively growing food together in our neighbourhoods can transform the lives of people in Liverpool for the better, and build our food system’s resilience in a changing world. The biggest obstacle to more local food growing is the lack of available land close to people’s homes.

All around Liverpool, small parcels of public land are being left unloved, costing taxpayers money to maintain, and giving nothing back to the community in return.

Community food growing projects such as those at Squash, Kensington Fields Community Association, Norris Green Park and Grow Speke (to name a few!) have shown that with a little TLC these parcels of land can be turned into something so much more valuable. In the middle of the cost-of-living crisis unlocking local healthy food could be a lifeline for many communities, offering practical hope for everyone.

We think it should be easy for communities to identify this unused public land, and apply for free, straight-forward leases to take on the care of the land.

Transforming space in urban locations for food growing creates neighbourhoods which are cooler in summer, less polluted, better for our mental and physical health, better for wildlife and encourages local food spend. And, because many of these actions are about giving power to people to shape their community, they turn out to be more sociable and more connected places.

We want to support Liverpool City Council to adopt a Right to Grow motion which would commit the council to:

- Identify all council owned land suitable for community cultivation.

- Make this land available for cultivation by a simple licence to community organisations at no cost.

- Consider community food growing on sites awaiting development for other uses on a fixed term basis.

- Allow established growing projects the right of first refusal to buy the land should the local authority decide to sell it.

- Connect with other Right to Grow cities and support the national campaign