Historic England grants £63,000 to Coventry allotment buildings

Nationally important allotment buildings are to be restored after a preservation trust grant was approved.

Historic England has awarded the funds to Coventry City Council for three original summer houses at Stoney Road Allotments.

The allotments are one of only five such spaces on the National Heritage List for England.

The listed buildings were a "hidden gem" in the city, said the council.

The site is set to benefit from £63,000 to enable the repair of the Grade II listed buildings that had been at "increasing and immediate" risk of loss, said the regional director of Historic England.

The site was "an important community resource which has been the backdrop to many people's gardening lives for nearly 90 years," Louise Brennan said.

It had "retained its wonderful hedged structure which shows how it originally developed as detached gardens with mature fences, rather than allotments with little or no boundaries," she added.

The small buildings form part of the plots laid out for use as town gardens, and acquired by the city council in 1935.

The features reflect how the site was developed not only to provide a garden away from home for people living in crowded urban areas, but also as a place in which people could take pride, said Historic England.

The buildings featured a variety of styles and materials but were all constructed in a traditional way with either a masonry or timber frame, with some decorative components, the organisation explained.

The announcement of the funding has been made to coincide with national allotments week.

"The summer houses really are a hidden gem in our city, said David Welsh, council cabinet member for housing and communities.

"While they have been maintained over the years by the allotment association, this funding will help preserve them for years to come."

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