VILLAGES and rural Communities in West Dunbartonshire could benefit from the council’s food growing strategy, a meeting has heard.

The project will identify vacant land for the development of fruit and vegetable allotments in a bid to inspire and encourage residents to make the area the best community food growing and garden location in Scotland.

The five-year strategy, a requirement in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, outlines the council’s plans to enhance and support food growing opportunities over the next five years.

The local authority is investing £500,000 in the project.

The Labour opposition group had wanted to double this but their suggestion was rejected by the SNP-led administration.

With 275 people on the allotment waiting list and a potential wait of up to ten years, it has been suggested that Balloch Park and areas within Gartocharn be included in the plans.

At the infrastructure, regeneration and economic development committee last week, Labour councillor Martin Rooney asked if the council could look at developing allotments in country parks and if smaller communities would be able to benefit from the project.

He asked: “Is there any option for Gartocharn? There are plans for other areas of West Dunbartonshire but Gartocharn doesn’t seem to show up on the map.

“It is an important part of West Dunbartonshire and I would suggest that there are probably some really good pieces of land out there and that’s a community that’s quite dispersed.“It would give people the option to move and take up an allotment in Gartocharn. Do we know what’s happening with the food that people grow?”

Gail MacFarlane, strategic lead for roads and neighbourhood, told Cllr Rooney that a working group would be set up to identify funding opportunities.

She said: “The working group will be looking at alternative locations as well. It’s not just about looking at the identified locations but bringing to the table what other locations we should be looking athrough the knowledge of community groups.”

The council already manages two allotment sites in Dumbarton, at Castlegreen Street and Round Riding Road. There are plans to develop three new food growing sites at Townend Road, Clydebank Community Sports Hub and Melfort Community Park. There are also three privately managed sites in Clydebank and 65 other community food growing sites operating within the Growing West Dunbartonshire group.

A progress report on the strategy will be brought before the committee every six months and will be published on the council’s website to allow interested parties to monitor its development.