Green space v social housing: the fight for the future of London's oldest allotments

A charity's plans to build social housing threaten allotments established in 1832 for the working poor of Ealing. While most London development stories divide along simple lines of villain and victim, the Northfields case is more complicated Once you pass the aged hedgerow that protects the old Ealing Dean allotments from the busy Northfields Avenue in suburban west London, you are rewarded with a vision as beguiling as it is unexpected. Here is nature in all its forms, from tidy rows of neatly tended vegetables to idiosyncratic plots of wildflower meadows or small orchards. There are haphazard green-roofed sheds, an old air-raid shelter and pre-Victorian water pumps, as well as children's playhouses and a hammock. Songbirds, ladybirds and butterflies flap lazily past. Everything smells delicious. It's hard to believe this beautiful space may not be around forever. Christina Fox, who manages the allotment - now known as Northfields - on behalf of the 141 plot-holders, shakes her head. "In 50 years all of this will have gone. There's no doubt." Continue reading...