North Yorkshire Police is appealing for witnesses after at least 15 sheds and storage units were broken into at allotments in Ripon.
Thieves struck at Fisher Green allotments, which has 80 plots close to the city’s racecourse, overnight between Friday night and Saturday morning.
Tools were stolen although not all the buildings suffered losses.
A police statement said the culprits also caused “considerable damage” to windows and doors when breaking in.
They are asking for anyone who might have witnessed the incident or has been offered tools for sale to get in touch by dialling 101 and quoting reference number 12210147470.
You can also email James.Skaith@northyorkshire.police.uk.
Read more:
Huge increase in Harrogate district allotment applications
Applications for allotments in the Harrogate district have gone up massively since 2018.
The increase is being attributed to lockdown tempting people with the promise of clear air and fresh vegetables grown from a patch of ground they can call their own.
Harrogate Borough Council owns and manages allotments at Claro Road and Pearl Street in Harrogate and Ferrensby in Knaresborough. The remaining 23 allotments in the district are run by parish councils or managed privately.
In 2018, Harrogate Borough Council received 12 requests for allotments at its Claro Road site, which is one of the biggest allotments in the district with 56 plots.
In 2020 there were 103 applications, an increase of over 750%.
The other two council-run sites saw a similar surge of interest. Pearl Street went from two applications in 2018 to 27 in 2020. Ferrensby saw an increase of six to 37 over the same period.
The council warns on its website that applicants could wait for up to five years, depending on which site they apply for.
Caroline Linford, who runs the website Sustainably Harrogate, has been on the waiting list for an allotment in Harrogate for two years. She would like her own plot so she can re-use food waste from her family’s dinner table.
“I love the idea of creating our own circular system where our food waste turns into nutritious compost that helps our vegetables grow. I intend to garden organically too so will avoid pesticides to help with local biodiversity.”
Read more:
The six allotments in Ripon are owned by Ripon City Council and leased to the Ripon Allotments Society.
Malcolm Hutchinson from the Ripon Allotments Society said there are now 76 people on the waiting list for a plot in Ripon, a significant increase over previous years.
He’s had an allotment since the 1970s and says they have become popular for people with more time on their hands due to lockdown.
He said:
“A lot of people are wanting to have a go at it. For most people, it’s something to do where they can potter away at their own pace.”