Charity volunteers have rallied together with the a Macclesfield parish to create allotment-based flood defences.

With autumn fast approaching, volunteers from the Rapid Relief Team (RRT) charity have joined forces with Adlington Parish Council and members of the local allotment community to create much-needed flood defences for Meadowside allotment in Adlington.

Allotments have been an ingrained part of our history for hundreds of years, providing space for people to grow their own fruits, vegetables, and plants since Anglo-Saxon times. Today, there are around 330,000 allotments in the country, with thousands of local people of all ages and backgrounds tending to their own piece of land, and many more eager for their own spot.

In the village of Adlington in Cheshire this is no different, with Meadowside allotment a key area for the community. However, the much-loved destination has faced a long-standing problem with flooding, which in the last couple of years has seen plots swamped and yields out of the allotments destroyed for an entire growing season.

A volunteer for the RRT charity. (Image - RRT)

Eager to resolve this problem, local volunteers from the Rapid Relief Team (RRT), the charity made up of volunteers from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, Chairman of Adlington Parish Council, Cllr Simon Gleave, and allotment owners recently rallied together to deliver a solution.

Over the course of a day, a mammoth task was undertaken to create channels to take the water away from the site. This involved shifting 6 tonnes of stone by hand, laying land drains, all whilst volunteers trimmed back hedges, cleared the pathways, and removed a tree which was blocking light onto some of the allotments.

Reflecting on the support of the RRT, Chairman of Adlington Parish Council, Cllr Simon Gleave, said: "It's amazing. It's been on our council agenda for a long time, but this shows that many hands make light work. I'm very appreciate and thankful of the support provided."

Kevin Bond, the Local RRT Team Leader, said: "Allotments are an often-understated part of many people's lives, not only providing an enjoyable natural escape, but also allowing people and families to grow their own fruit and vegetables to enjoy.

Thankfully, it was not raising while the new natural flood defences were being put in. (Image - RRT Charity)

"Adlington's Meadowside allotment is an important location for the community, and as a charity committed to supporting others, this was an initiative we were delighted to be involved within. Made up of volunteers from Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, the RRT was delighted to provide our time and resources to help future-proof and protect the Meadowside allotment for years to come."