Welcome to
Wester Hailes Allotment Association
Website

A very warm welcome to the Wester Hailes Allotment Association website. The website is intended for members and prospective members of the Association but we hope that everyone who visits the site will find something of interest.

We, the members of the association, are a welcoming, multi-cultural community of people who enjoy cultivating our plots to grow vegetables and fruit. Some members also grow and show some flowers, but the main production is fruit and vegetables.

Our History

Our Beginnings

Wester Hailes Allotment Association was established in 1978 as an independent allotment association on a site situated in the south-west of Edinburgh. The Association is independent in the sense that it is not run by the local council. We rent ground from the City of Edinburgh Council as well as a private landowner.

When it was established in 1978, the Association operated on a single site off Westburn Avenue in Wester Hailes.

The 1980s

In the early 1980s when the City By-Pass was being extended through to the Gyle, the allotment site was split in two by a new public highway between Westburn and Baberton Mains. Since then, the Association has operated on 2 sites - the East Side and the West Side.

In 1981, a small area of land at the western-most end of the West Side was rented from the then local farmer and this was used to establish 12 new plots.

And Today!

In the early days, plotholders were local residents of Wester Hailes and the Calders. Today, members of the Association are still mostly local residents who live within a mile or so of the 2 sites. But quite a few now come from further afield. Anyone who can commit to maintaining a plot to the required standard is welcome to apply to join the association.

In total there are now 100 allotments (plots) split between the East and West Sides.

Our Committee

Position Name Plot Number
Chair Michael Muirhead 15 West
Vice-Chair John Hanna 34 West
Secretary Kirsty Williamson 20 West
Treasurer Tim Connelley 53 East
Member Khalid Bashir 45 East
Member Mark Dunn 18 West
Member Dave Jarrold 28 East
Member Doreen Quinney 33 East
Member Witold Wantuch 13 East
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Committee members can be contacted on their plots or by post through the Secretary

If you wish to write to the Association, please address your letter as follows:-

The Secretary
Wester Hailes Allotment Association
c/o WHALE
30 Westburn Grove
Edinburgh
EH14 2SA

Or you can send an email to the Secretary at .

Alternatively, you can send a message using the contact form

Click for contact form

More About Us

Our Plots

Our plots are roughly 200 square metres in size and are mostly rectangular. A typical plot would be around 20 metres by 10 metres. But some may be smaller and irregularly shaped.

Cultivation

Members are required to cultivate and maintain their allotments to a standard of at least seventy-five percent of the allotment being under cultivation mainly for the production of fruit and vegetable crops.

Termination

Alas, from time-to-time it becomes necessary to terminate a tenancy. This action usually arises from the plot being neglected and/or not cultivated to the required standard.

Water

Water is available on site but members are expected to use it responsibly and to collect and use rain water wherever possible.

Some of what we grow.

Special Thanks

We are grateful for the ongoing help we receive from:

  • Wester Hailes Arts and Leisure (WHALE) - for post-box services
  • Kathleen Beggs - for accountancy services