Heavy rain fell thoughout November 07. It quickly became apparent that the ground at Marsh Lane Field was as it says on the tin – marsh. The allotments, designed and built from scratch, at a cost of £1.3M, by Olympic contractors Birse Civils, had filled up with water, which couldn’t drain away.
On a third of the site plot holders couldn’t stand on the soil without sinking up to their knees in sludge within seconds. There were some hilarious moments, as plot holders had to be rescued, sucked in over their wellies. Children, however, had to be carefully supervised to keep them away from the affected plots.
In January 08 after the LDA had continued to claim the problem would settle down with time, Julie and new Co-chair Kath, got LBC Radio down to the plots early one morning. Presenter Jim Wheeble phoned Andrew Gaskill of the London Development Agency at 7am to ask what they were going to do about the flooding. Mr Gaskill agreed to commission an independent drainage expert to look at the site and promised he would follow his advice.
It wasn’t until the end of March that we had a diagnosis.
The contractors had to wait for optimum weather conditions before the ‘ripping’ process could be undertaken so many plots remained unworked through the summer. Weeds suited to damp conditions began to establish themselves and with a diminished number of members the Society found it difficult to establish their own new plots and maintain the large area of empty land.
Tom struggling to cope with flood
Deluge at Reg's plot