Angry allotment holders claim their crops have been ruined after a council installed a £20,000 solar-powered well to save water.
The hi-tech borehole was put in as an alternative to using mains water as part of a mission to become more eco-friendly due to the “climate emergency”.
Slammed as a “woke idea that doesn’t work” by one grower, it was installed by Dover Council, in Kent, without any consultation – and smallholders say it has not been supplying enough water.
This summer, production of vegetables on the Maxton allotment site decreased significantly but the council refuses to turn the mains back on.
They, in turn, blame gardeners, arguing they should be collecting their own supplies using water butts.
Frustrated allotment holder David Lewis, 56, said: “This year, the mains water never went on and the borehole started failing immediately.
“It is 6,000 litres, so the ideal size for a three-to-four family dwelling, not for 68 plots.
“In July it stopped working altogether. There was a problem with the solar panel’s battery but they didn’t tell us. We just didn’t have any water for a week.”
David, who grows lettuce to donate to local food charities, usually supplies a couple of trays in five varieties – but not this year.
Tenants have now sent Dover Town Council, which manages the land, a 50-signature petition demanding mains water is turned back on. David said: “Tenants have had no consultation, no face-to-face meetings, no emails regarding the borehole and all emails sent from us have been ignored. This is a woke idea that doesn’t work.”
Tricia Cunningham, 76, who also has a plot, said: “We grow vegetables to supplement us and we haven’t got the potatoes that we normally have, we haven’t got the squash we normally have.”
David added of the device’s design: “It looks very industrial. Referring to a council clampdown on appearances, he added: “Some people have had emails saying they might have their plots reduced if they don’t sort their weeds – but the council puts in a tank that looks like it’s from a factory!”
Town councillor Graham Wanstall has taken up the tenants’ case and he said: “We, the town council, decided a couple of years ago to install a borehole that operated on solar power as an experiment.
“It hasn’t worked, so the gardeners are frustrated. The intention was to supplement mains water, not replace it.”
A town council spokesperson said: “The council is disappointed some tenants are not supportive of its move towards addressing the climate change emergency and are not collecting rainwater. Many successful allotment sites do not have mains water. The reality is water is not an unlimited resource.”
