The BHAS Allotment Society has successfully applied for grants over the last couple of years to provide accessible community spaces for education, improve biodiversity and sustainability on site and create new infrastructure.

Community Garden Project

The project created a community garden, including wheel-chair accessible raised beds, developed for additional utility for plot holders and space for partner charities and a local primary school to grow vegetables and enjoy time in nature.

The space allows us to host regular accessible educational workshops, provides a place for plot holders to socialise and includes a number of biodiversity benefits – large pond, dead hedge and planting for pollinators.

Work was funded by a grant from Richmond Community Fund (awarded in Summer 2024).

Sustainable rainwater harvesting project

Awarded in winter 2025, the BHAS received funds from Community Bluescapes to install rainwater harvesting systems for plot holders on sheds, greenhouses and polytunnels.

This means plot holders are less reliant on metered water and can support more sustainable growing practices along with having rainwater to keep ponds topped up during dry periods, making our sites more climate resilient. Rainwater also provides crops with more nutrients than mains water.

The project has prioritised fixing existing rainwater systems to maximise the benefit of these funds as well as installing completely new systems.