Okay. Well, I represent community and town councils through One Voice Wales. I put in my evidence that a survey undertaken by the Welsh Government a few years ago showed that, out of those that responded, there were 35 community and town councils managing their own allotments. I've got some evidence locally, because I'm a clerk as well, that some of those councils run more than one allotment site. Some of them are very small, some of them are quite large. I don't recall, in my period with One Voice Wales—and I've been there since 2011—any guidance that, really, can be comprehensively followed by community and town councils, other than the very long document that was produced, which I think, probably, for a council that doesn't have allotments, would be rather off-putting. I think that, in terms of strategy, strategies should be simple, and actions that are needed to deliver that strategy should be concise, understandable and delivered in a way that people understand.
As part of our evidence, we think that we're well placed to try and increase the number of allotment sites that are managed locally, because I think there are benefits of management locally. Unitary authorities, I know from my discussion with colleagues before I came in, do have some difficulties, especially dealing with waiting lists, and about creating a focus in allotments on things other than food production. There are things in the evidence I've given about the benefits of allotments as a place where biodiversity can be encouraged and actioned. Allotments, from my experience—and I've been running a 67-plot allotment site for 30-odd years in my own community council role—are places where communities thrive and develop, and often, the management of allotments is not just about providing the land; it's about managing the personalities and the community that exists there.
I think there are other models, from what I've read from the Welsh Government strategy, that might be considered, such as partnerships between community and town councils and local allotment associations where they work in partnership—the council encourage support, maybe fund some things, and manage some of the community issues that sometimes an association itself finds it very difficult to do. So, I think it does need a refreshed strategy, and I think it needs fresh guidance that can come out, that's understandable, concise and, if you like, provides an encouragement for councils to consider how they can develop these spaces for local food production.