Easter event held as deadline to save Stan Pennington allotment looms

With landowners setting a deadline of May 6 to raise enough money to save the Stan Pennington Allotments, plot holders have been working tirelessly to meet the £106k target.

Over the past year, this has seen the plot holders pitching in their own money, applying for grant funding, and holding fundraising events such as family fun days, quiz nights, and car boot sales.

Others have arranged charity evenings and participated in events like the St Helens 10k to help raise funds, while the plot holders' 'Easter Extravaganza' event helped to add thousands to their tally.

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The event brought families and residents of all ages together (Image: Stan Pennington Allotments)
Taking place on Saturday, March 30, well over a hundred people attended the fundraising event, which saw plot holders and residents selling homemade food, flower hampers, and 'Save Stan Pennington Allotment' merchandise.

There was also an Easter Egg hunt for kids, arts of crafts activities, quizzes, as well as a tombola and raffle with some impressive prizes to raise money for the plot holder's cause.

The mayor of St Helens Cllr Lynn Clarke and leader of the council Cllr David Baines were also in attendance to show their support, as well as Merseyside Fire and Rescue firefighters who let kids pose for pictures around the fire engine.

'Save Stan Pennington Allotments' merchandise was sold at the event (Image: Stan Pennington Allotments)
With the extravaganza taking place at a similar time as St Helens Coalition of Disabled People's charity event -  who utilise space at the allotments - and extremely generous donations from members of the public, the Easter fundraising raised more than £6,000 for the plot holders.

The dedicated group is still waiting to hear if they have been successful with various grant funding as the deadline to meet their financial target lies just over a month away.

The event had a positive atmosphere as people aim to meet the £106k target (Image: Stan Pennington Allotments)
The financial has been set after landowners backed down from plans to kick plot holders off the site in November 2023, instead setting a price of £100,000 to purchase the site, plus an additional £6,000 in legal fees.

The fundraising comes after a huge campaign to save the former Pilks-owned allotments, which has served the community for more than 70 years, with almost 3,000 people signing a petition to save the site.

Residents chipped in to sell homemade food (Image: Stan Pennington Allotments)
Speaking about the Easter Extravaganza, Giles Whalley, chair of the Stan Pennington Allotment co-operative, said: "We were planning this event for a while but so many people came together to help out and show their support

"Everything we had on offer was donated by plot holders and residents and there was a really good atmosphere at the allotments.

"There is a lot of positivity around at the moment and we will keep trying everything we can until we win and save this site."

Firefighters also came down and allowed pictures around the fire engine (Image: Stan Pennington Allotments)
Information about further allotments can be found here. To donate to the online fundraiser, you can visit this site.