What surprised me when I was putting together the green job directory was the number of farms that still exist within the boundaries of the city.

There are about a dozen of them in areas of the City should as Bucknall, Fenton, Newstead and Stockton Brook. I wonder how many cities in the country still have a farming presence so close to the centre.

The use of land is one that I feel is rising up the political agenda. I’m involved in the Transition Town Movement in Leek and I guess that we can claim to be the most successful example of a countrywide movement operating in the area. Currently we have a couple of areas of land which we are turning into allotment for example the local Quakers have given us a piece of land close to the town centre which we are developing by growing a variety of fruit and vegetables.

Transition Town Leek has also been offered an overgown orchard and I have a hope that we could develop a project such as the Appleseed Project in Edinburgh where native apples can be grown.

One of the local supermarkets in Leek stocks 11 different types of apple, only 2 are Britsh apples and apples are being shipped in from South America, the US and China which seems an awfully long way to bring a fruit that could be grown locally. There is also the question of types of apple which used to be common such as the Worcester Pearmain which are almost becoming extinct. It seems to me the production of local varieties must be a good thing all round.

Currently Transition Town Leek are in talks with Groundwork to see how some of these projects could be moved on with the support of Groundwork and the Future Jobs Fund.

But there is a wider question. Could urban farming offer opportunities for a conurbation such as Stoke?

In many ays there is a noble tradition in Stoke of land reclaimation of which areas such as Hanley Forest Park is an excellent example. But what about the many brown field sites in the City that could be bought back into profitable use by for example the growth of biomass crops without putting pressure on existing argricultural land. I did see an example of using brownfield sites in this way operating in Denmark- unfortunately I don’t read Danish but I got the idea and of course there are American examples who are looking at ays in which industrial cities like Detroit and Flint can be re born

As an extract from the article below indicates

“The urban agricultural movement has grown nationwide in recent years, as recession-fueled worries prompted people to raise fruits and vegetables to feed their families and perhaps sell at local farmers’ markets.

Large gardens and small farms — usually 10 acres or less — have cropped up in thriving cities such as Berkeley, where land is tough to come by, and struggling Rust Belt communities such as Flint, Mich., which hopes to encourage green space development and residents to eat locally grown foods.

In Detroit, hundreds of backyard gardens and scores of community gardens have blossomed and helped feed students in at least 40 schools and hundreds of families.

It is the size and scope of Hantz Farms that makes the project unique. Although company officials declined to pinpoint how many acres they might use, they have been quoted as saying that they plan to farm up to 5,000 acres within the Motor City’s limits in the coming years, raising organic lettuces, trees for biofuel and a variety of other things.

The project was launched two years ago by Michigan native and financier John Hantz, who has invested an initial $30 million of his own money toward purchasing equipment and land.

It will start small. Next spring, the farm is expected to begin growing crops on about 30 acres of land, Score said.

Because it has been difficult for Hantz and his team to purchase large contiguous parcels, much of the acreage has been grouped into smaller “pods.” Each will grow different crops, depending on the condition of the soil and what buildings remain on the land, Score said”

Food for thought?