Uckfield Town Council Celebrates Allotment Competition Winners
Uckfield Town Council is delighted to confirm the winners of its 2026 Allotment Competition, following one of the most challenging summers for the town’s gardeners in recent memory.
Allotment holders’ achievements were celebrated at the annual Allotment Conference, which this year took place on Wednesday 9th September.
The Council manages six allotment sites across Uckfield, which cover a variety of areas: Ridgewood, Bell Lane, West Park, Framfield Road East, Framfield Road West, and Bird-in-Eye.
Allotments enable residents to play an active part in bolstering biodiversity and social cohesion in our town. Far more than a statutory requirement for town councils, allotments are a powerful tool for bringing communities together and benefiting the environment. The efforts of allotment holders, who maintain their plots and bring life and colour to Uckfield, represent a real asset to the town.
At this year’s conference, the Uckfield Town Mayor, Cllr. Karen Bedwell, and the Deputy Mayor, Cllr. Spike Mayhew, awarded the prizes to this year’s winners, while the Environment & Leisure Committee Vice-Chair, Cllr. Bernadette Reed, was also in attendance.
At the event, Cllr. Bedwell said: “A huge congratulations to all the winners and to all of our allotment holders. Thank you for the hard work you put into your plots.
“The standard continues to be extremely high, and it’s wonderful to see the pride people take in their allotments.”
Awards were handed out for the following categories:
- Best Kept Allotments
- Overall Winner
- Ecological Award
- Children’s Award
- Best Newcomer
- Most Improved
- Scarecrow Competition
In the Scarecrow Competition, Rita won the Children’s Award with ‘Two Magic Phonics and Number Beanstalks’. Katie Green, Isaac and Reuben Buxton were highly commended for ‘Teaching Owl’, alongside Eadie for ‘Orla’. Linden Court Crafting Group won both the Business Category and the Overall Award with ‘Crafters Scarecrow’, while Caroline Hoath and her granddaughter Sophie won the Household Category.
In the Allotment Competition, Leon Szymanski won the Children’s Award, with Ever Hubick and Sreya Chakravartty named as runners-up. Peter and Annette Gillett won the Ecological Award, with Graham and Jan Smith as runners-up.
The six Best Kept Allotment awards went to Phil Manning, Liz West, Anita Collins, Janet Snow, Polly and Nick Rowe, and Chris Skraba. Chris also won the Overall Award, earning a place on the Allotment Shield.
Stephanie O’Hara and Louise Thorogood received the Best Newcomer awards, while Liz West also received the Most Improved Award.
The award presentations were followed by a variety of talks, with a headline address from guest speaker Kevin Martin, who is Head Groundsman at Glyndebourne Estate.
Kevin gave a fascinating insight into 33 years of service at Glyndebourne, including advice about managing gardens organically.
The meeting closed with thoughts for the year ahead, as Cllr. Bedwell said: “As we look ahead to 2027, our focus remains on working together. We want to continue improving communication between the Town Council, the Allotment Association, representatives and all allotment holders.
“We also want to continue supporting well-managed, welcoming and thriving allotment sites across Uckfield. There is clearly a strong demand for allotments, and we want to build on the positive work that is already taking place.
“We look forward to continuing that partnership throughout the year ahead.”
