PROTESTORS fighting to keep their beloved allotments have handed a petition with nearly 2,000 signatures to Christchurch council.

Chairman of the Roeshot Hill Allotment Association, Malcolm Selkirk, presented the weighty document to the Mayor of Christchurch, Cllr Nick Geary at a meeting of the full council.

The group of around 40 allotment holders and members of the public attending the meeting also gave the Mayor a basket full of fruit and veg.

The objectors are protesting against a possible housing development being built on the site at Roeshot Hill, which could see up to 1,250 new homes built.

A consultation on the proposed urban extension development was carried out in Christchurch as part of the borough’s core strategy recently.

The four different options in the strategy revealed plans to build between 500-1,250 new homes on the site with some of alternatives relocating the allotments and removing the overhead pylons.

Presenting the petition, Mr Selkirk said: “This petition is signed by 1,946 people.

“Many of the older, more experienced tenants will not have the ability to start a new allotment on a relocated site.

“The Green Belt is protected and should not be used for housing particularly if it is good agricultural land.

“We witness new local development being used by retired ‘incomers’ on a regular basis and the demographic profiles of our largely old community will not improve as a result of this development.

“We need a plan to concentrate housing on existing local needs”

Mr Selkirk also said a concentrated housing development would also place an “unsupportable burden” on an “already over-stretched infrastructure and services”.

The current waiting list for an allotment at Roeshot Hill has 120 names on it, although demand is believed to be a lot higher.