The controversial vegetable patch in Bath’s Hedgemead Park – known locally as Vegmead – is going to have to go.
Bath & North East Somerset Council is drawing up plans for a two-year programme of improvement works to this public space and they don’t think a flower bed – now full of fruit and veg -is poorly suited to a heritage landscape’.
The Council’s Parks Department is currently developing a long-term management plan for the park and as part of this is considering whether the vegetable patch should be moved to a more suitable location.
Kensington Meadows has been suggested as ‘an ideal alternative’.
Hedgemead Park is one of only five Grade I and II listed public parks in the district, recognised by Historic England for its nationally important formal landscaped gardens with paths, garden ornaments and a bandstand.
However, having carried out a review of the park, the Council is concerned that the current site is unsuitable for a number of reasons:
It is on a steep slope and has limited access to water, compost facilities, storage and other amenities
It is relatively difficult to access and is largely inaccessible to those with limited mobility.
It is poorly-suited to a heritage landscape.
The location and layout of the space limits opportunities for the plot to develop further.
Cllr Martin Veal (Conservative, Bathavon North) Cabinet Member for Community Services said: “Working around the growing season, we will discuss with users and interested parties a proposal to move the fruit and vegetable plot, possibly towards the end of 2017.
We appreciate that this has been a convenient location for those involved but by working together we can hopefully find somewhere more suitable for the plot. Nearby Kensington Meadows is an ideal alternative with large areas of flat, accessible open space, alongside an existing fledgling community orchard.”
