Agnew Lane

Community Garden

Agnew Lane is disused, privately owned land in the heart of the Govanhill/Crosshill area of Glasgow. Since 2007, when the land was purchased by its current owner, no development has taken place even after several planning permission applications granted by the council.

In 2020 a small group of community gardeners cleaned the lane of dangerous refuse left by the developer, and built a garden from found materials with the intention of donating their produce to local food banks and community groups.

This original group has now grown to over 100 people; made up of gardeners, neighbours, community organisers, and local businesses.

This website will tell the history of the land until now and then explain the community’s plans to buy the lane and develop it into a garden fit to produce food for donation on a larger scale.

History

In 2007 Agnew Lane was purchased by a developer. In 2008 they were granted planning permission by the council to demolish a late 1800’s building which used to be a local bakery. After over 15 years of several planning permission applications approved for development of the land, no works have been carried out and the lane has been largely maintained by the surrounding community.

In 2011 South Seeds built a community garden at the lane that had raised beds and fruit trees. The project engaged the community, gathering supporters from the surrounding tenements and Govanhill area. Three years later, after repeated attempts at contacting the land owner, the garden was tragically demolished with little forewarning for materials and plants to be saved.

In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, a new group of community growers began building a vegetable garden out of found materials with the hopes of donating their produce to local food banks, food points, and community organisations. Working together anonymously, these community growers not only built a safe environment for people to gather during the pandemic, they also cleared the lane of dangerous refuse left by the developer, and have been able to donate fruit and veg during the harvest seasons.

In 2021, the developer sent contractors to cut down all the trees at Agnew Lane and level the land for foundations. The growers were able to save the garden by flagging up the fact that the developer’s planning permission had lapsed to both the contractors and council. After a year long investigation during which time the developer submitted evidence and the growers submitted contrary evidence proving their affidavits were false, the council decided to not extend planning permission on the land, thereby stopping the development of eight mews homes and two parking lots.

The Plan

The history of Agnew Lane begs an important question. What does Govanhill need? More unnaffordable housing? Or community managed green space open to all?

As growers, neighbours, and local community organisers, we have answered that question and formed a community body to pursue a buyout of Agnew Lane. Our intention is to facilitate development of the land by the community, for the benefit of the community.

What we envisage is a garden capable of not only supplying the community with free veg and fruit, but also providing grounds for native species of plants, insects, and animals to coexsist.

What we envisage is a place for learning: learning about our neighbours, learning how to build, encourage biodiversity, and cultivate food.

What we envisage is community empowerment pushing back against disenfranchisement, food insecurity, and environmental degredation in the urban environment.

An in depth look...

We have pulled together a pretty impressive initial proposal for how the community body intends to develop Agnew Lane.

Click ︎ here to read some of that proposal, which is currently being considered by Scottish Ministers.

Want to get involved?

We put out a quarterly newsletters in line with Solstices and Equinoxes. These are good ways to keep up to date on our progress and also find ways to chip in. We will share future projects and any missing resources we might need. Follow the link below to sign up via Mailchimp.

Alternatively, you can follow our goings on via Instagram and Facebook. Feel free to just get in touch with us directly as well.

Finally, if you fancy getting your hands dirty, we hold community gardening days most Sundays from 13:00 at the lane. All are welcome!