I was very pleased to read that Ms Groulef agrees with my views on the proposed sell-off of allotment land on Chapel Hill by the Tilehurst Poor’s Land Trust and I welcome her support but far from joining the fight for allotments as reported in the Post on 31 July, Ms Groulef has simply put a size 10 Labour boot where it is not needed. Despite a picture against a background of well tended allotments Ms Groulef does not appear to have actually met the allotment holders under threat. She has made a snide remark about a Tory councillor, omitting to mention the other trustees (who include the local vicar and other residents). The Trust’s decisions are made by a Board not by individual members. All Ms Groulef has succeeded in doing is further antagonising the trustees and turning a local dispute into a political mud-slinging match. And all for the sake of a photo in the press.
For Ms Groulef’s benefit, the last time Labour put its size 10 boots in to a local dispute with the Trust was over the Kentwood Hill allotments which was nearly 15 years ago. The result was a lot of publicity for the local MP, allotment holders were moved off their plots onto alternative plots elsewhere and significantly, the Kentwood Hill site has remained derelict, benefiting nobody. The only winner was the local publicity hungry MP.

Now I know I represent a different political party but I am doing my best to offer a positive solution to this issue which is essentially about raising money for the Trust’s charitable work (see my recent letter on the subject).

If only politics could be about getting things done to improve communities rather than trading snide remarks. Please Ms Groulef, apologise for singling out Cllr Vickers, and join us in fighting a local campaign to both save the allotments and help raise money for the Trust.