Commentary on Sections Duty to prepare food-growing strategy
405.Section 119 places a duty on every local authority to prepare a food-growing strategy which must be published within two years of this section coming into force. Subsection (3) provides that the food-growing strategy must identify land in the local authority area which could be used by a community to grow vegetables, fruit, herbs or flowers, as well as land that could be used for allotments, and must describe how the authority intends to increase the provision of allotments or other land for community growing, should there be an identified need. Subsection (4) requires a local authority, when detailing how it intends to increase the provision of allotment sites and community growing areas of land in its area, to describe whether and how this will apply to communities which experience socio-economic disadvantage. The Scottish Ministers may also prescribe by regulations other information to be included in a food-growing strategy.
406.Once complete, the local authority must publish the food-growing strategy on a website or by other electronic means (subsection (5)).