Agriculture is being boosted with a community garden planned for each parish the House of Assembly was told this morning.

Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the public works minister, said the Government owned 38 plots of arable land across the island, with 32 leased.

He cited the Crow Lane Community Garden as a “perfect example of a project that leads to a wider community collaboration well beyond gardening”.

A community garden at Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Park has proven “very successful and well received by the Southampton community”, he said.

Colonel Burch said two sites were “competing to come online next”: Avocado Lodge Park, at the top of Corkscrew Hill, and the TN Tatem Community Partners Garden.

There are three other sites on the horizon: Southlands East, a plot at Tudor Farm and the St David’s Community Garden.

Colonel Burch said there had been a high demand for mulch from the Marsh Folly facility, showing that members of the public were developing their own backyard gardens.

He said he had told the parks department to add a record of production output to its registry of community gardens.

Colonel Burch added: “I would also like to invite those private landowners who have unused plots of land that is suitable for a community garden to consider creating one.

He said the Department of Parks would be “more than willing to lend a hand in getting it organised”.

• To read Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch’s statement in full, click on the PDF under “Related Media”