The allotment at Whitley.The green credentials of a North Yorkshire village have been raised another notch with the help of a grant from Broadacres.

Whitley Village Allotment Association, near Pontefract, is a focal point for the community and volunteers will use the money from the Association’s Sustainability Fund, to buy a mega-size compost hot bin.

Association Treasurer John White said: “These 700-litre bins are made of very tough poly and can create compost within 90 days. It’s something the whole allotment community can use.”

Situated a few miles from Pontefract, the village of Whitley is recorded in the Domesday Book and locals take great pride in its appearance.

The Allotment Association oversees 27 plots on a former agricultural field which was purchased by the parish council in 2010 and converted into plots by locals.

The village has benefitted in the past from a grant from Broadacres to fund hedge cutting equipment and John says the latest addition of a supersize compost bin will help the village’s sustainability drive.

“It means instead of all the green waste having to go into bins and be collected by the council, we can now recycle here at Whitley, break it down and use the compost on the allotments,” said John. “The allotments benefit many local people, not just in terms of the produce and exercise but also the social aspect.”

Helen Fielding, Broadacres Senior Sustainability Manager, said: “This application fulfilled various criteria of our sustainability fund so we were very pleased to make this award to such a fantastic community-run initiative like this.”

The Broadacres Sustainability Fund provides funding of up to £500 (£1,000 in exceptional cases) for local projects which:

  • Protect or create areas for wildlife
  • Involve tree planting
  • Encourage or enable people in the community to grow their own fruit and/or vegetables
  • Protect or create an outdoor space for local communities to enjoy

People/organisations who would like to apply for funding through the sustainability fund can do by visiting www.broadacres.org.uk/customer-area/getting-involved/sustainability-fund/

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