Growing space

For the purposes of the Home Quality Mark (HQM), growing space can be considered to be any one or more of the following:

Food planters.
Private gardens.
Allotments.
Community gardens or community orchards.
Roof top growing space.
Raised beds dedicated for growing food (this is a particularly useful approach where the soil conditions are poor as they can be artificially filled with good quality soil).
Greenhouses or polytunnels.

This space could be provided in private gardens, balconies or roof terraces.

Where growing space is not provided in a garden bed, facilities to enable food growing (i.e. planters or equivalent) must be in place at handover and must be fixed in place (i.e. a free-standing planter would not be accepted).

Where communal growing space is provided it must be:

Located within 500m of the entrance from all homes on site.
Have clear ownership arrangements.
A clearly-designated growing space, for example use of planting or fencing around the perimeter, or in the case of communal areas contain signage.
Ideally south facing and not in an area that is heavily shaded.
Contain suitable soil conditions and depths.
Sheltered from the wind on the perimeter, for example trees, hedges or other boundary protection.
Designed to be accessible to all users, for example through the provision of raised beds.
Located near a rain water collection system, such as a rainwater butt.