The Baldock Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Association is confident its destiny is in its own hands and has plenty of plans in the pipeline.

Last week the three trustees of the association signed the management agreement and the leases for the North Road and Clothall Road allotment sites.

Once the documents are sealed by North Herts District Council – and the group are very confident they will be – the association will be handed a 25-year lease of the sites.

The allotments have been controlled by the local authority for about 100 years, and the association believes the decision is the most important in its 32-year history.

Association general secretary Phil Charsley said: “This agreement has been four years in the making, so we are incredibly delighted.

“The rents previously have been some of the highest in the country so we are determined to bring these down and provide a better service for our allotment tenants.

“All our members are really pleased with the result.”

The group is planning to upgrade the water supply on the Clothall Road site by increasing the size of the supply feed and installing additional pipework, while plans are also afoot to improve water drainage and the car park at North Road.

This will also include the district council building a speed bump on the drive to improve safety for walkers using the path.

On one weekend in April or May the group will be providing a skip at each site, for a proper ‘spring clean’.

All tenancy agreements with the district council will be transferred to the association and, by April 1, the group will be invoicing all tenants.

Tenants will also become members of the association so that everyone will have a say on how the allotments are run and developed for the future.

There are plots available at both sites, to find out more call 07523 185106.