Council to develop strategy for gardens and allotments

Local authorities are now required to prepare strategies to reserve and ring fence land for use as community gardens and allotments.

The obligation, laid down in the Planning and Development Act, 2024, came into effect on 31 December 2025.

The strategies will have five requirements for the creation, improvement, and preservation of sustainable places and communities.

Community gardens are already a staple of many towns and cities in the UK and mainland Europe, but Ireland has lagged behind in issuing guidance to local authorities. For example, the Scottish government issued their guidance in 2015, while Wales followed soon after in 2019.

There are currently two allotments operated by Cork City Council, in Churchfield and Ballincollig. There are 53 and 84 plots at these sites respectively.

Molly Garvey, co-chairperson of Community Gardens Ireland (CGI) said the provisions are a positive step in fighting the ongoing biodiversity crisis.

“Evidence, from the intergovernmental panel on climate change reports to the citizens’ assembly on biodiversity loss, is clear - there is no doubt that community gardens and allotments make communities more sustainable, help with the climate and biodiversity crises, and bring people together.

“Our vision is for every member of the community to have a space to grow and gather, for these spaces to be places where every member of the community is welcome to use and learn about gardening, food growing, food sovereignty, biodiversity, and more,” she said.

Her colleague and co-chairperson at CGI Daniel McCormack agreed and said that “community gardens and allotments provide a sustainable method for communities to grow together”.

“We have seen examples from all over Ireland for how these spaces grow connections in communities, help bring people together regardless of age or background and educate multiple generations on where our food comes from and how to grow it.

“Compared to other European countries, Ireland currently offers far fewer community gardens and allotments. It is imperative that community gardens and allotments are planned for by local authorities to ensure the creation, improvement and protection of more of these essential spaces,” he said.

The Government has committed to issuing guidance documents to local authorities on the provision of community gardens and allotments, but these have yet to be circulated. An initial release date was indicated for December 2023, however by November 2025 the Government said they were still being developed.

This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.