What it really means to lose the plot

Tesco takes on its competitors in Hadleigh, Suffolk:

Valerie Barber, 67, a member of the Bridge Street Allotment Association, stands to lose the plot she has nurtured for 42 years if Tesco is given the go-ahead to turn allotments into a car park.

More here.

The supermarket's response was of interest:

"No allotments will be lost, but unfortunately some will be moved, and we will be happy to meet and discuss these issues with all those concerned. We will work with them on the best soil for new plots and will bring in professional help if needed to ensure allotment holders get the best possible growing conditions."

When I think about the politics of this massive company in its dealings with small local councils - let alone small local vegetable gardeners - the comment suggests a degree of consideration that we might not have even imagined twenty years ago.

All the same, the UK's dominant supermarket, doubtless defended by some very sharp legal and accounting brains, is unlikely to be able to calculate the value of the emotional investment that this woman has made in her small patch of land over four decades of tendering. It's called growing food, and it matters.

The pic I took at about this season, a couple of years ago.