A new website at www.communitylandadvice.org.uk has been launched as part of an initiative aiming to make more land available for UK community gardening and growing groups.

The Community Land Advisory Service (CLAS) is an impartial, collaborative initiative, designed to help tackle the lack of available land for community gardening and associated activities. Demand from the community sector for land has outstripped traditional sources of supply in recent years, leading to issues such as 10-year waiting lists for allotments in some cities.

This increasing need for community-managed land has been fuelled by an expansion in local food growing, concerns about the environment and a desire for communities to have a green space that local people can share.

The new website will contain a portfolio of useful documents, from FAQs about community land use, to overviews of topics such as finding land, offering land to community groups, negotiating tips and information on leases and planning. There are also links to a wealth of existing publications and websites.

A small team of CLAS advisors are also available in England and Scotland to help answer specific queries with detailed technical advice.

Funding for the project has come from a variety of sources, including the Department for Communities and Local Government, Tudor Trust, Esmeé Fairbairn Foundation and the Scottish Government. During its three-year development stage, CLAS will be project-managed by the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens.

FCFCG Chief Executive Jeremy Iles said: “The website is another leap forward for the Service, and will provide a range of information resources that will help both community organisations and landowners to tackle the challenges of making more land available for community use. It will also help us raise the profile of CLAS and community land use.

“We are working closely with other organisations and initiatives in similar fields, to ensure what we do complements their work,” he added.

www.communitylandadvice.org.uk