The Golf Course Allotments Association, Winton Avenue, off Blake Road, has been awarded a grant of £8,940.00 by the Big Lottery fund for the purchase and installation of a toilet on the site. The toilet was purchased from Kazuba UK, is designed to be entirely self-contained and requires no water, chemicals or electricity. It is self-composting and requires minimal upkeep. In addition, the toilet is designed to provide disabled access. The total cost was just under £10,000 and the extra money needed was raised by plotholders with a series of fund-raising projects over the past three years.

The toilet was installed in early April - much to the relief of us all! “We will especially appreciate our new toilet during events such as our upcoming National Gardens Scheme open day and Annual Show on September 4th. In the past, we have had to escort people in desperate need to our sheds”, says Karen Sellars, GCAA Committee member. Alexandra Park School will also be taking advantage of the facilities as they have a plot on the site.

The Golf Course Allotments Association was formed in 1929, to promote the interests of plotholders at the Golf Course Allotments, which is located off Winton Avenue. Since 2004, the group has been active in seeking funding for projects and have thus far added a new allotment shop for members, tea rooms, a large community hut and now a toilet. Both the community hut and the toilet have been primarily funded by the Big Lottery Fund. The Big Lottery Fund distributes half of the National Lottery good cause funding across the UK. The Fund aims to enable others to make real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need.

Karen Sellars said that the committee are grateful to the Big Lottery fund and feel that it was a very worthwhile effort.