GREEN-FINGERED Nailsea residents will have to wait a bit longer for the good life after plans for new allotments were put on the backburner.

Nailsea Town Council has been looking into adding Gaulacre to its portfolio of rentable garden plots after searching for suitable sites across the town.

But at a meeting of the council’s Leisure Facilities Committee, members voted to defer a decision to develop the ten-acre stretch of land at Engine Lane until it meets again on January 18.

The problem is although 50 plots of various sizes are planned, the two-acres are only part of the site, currently being leased to a local farmer.

Town clerk Ian Morrell said: “We won’t be making a decision until we look at the entire site and decide what we are going to do with it.

“We have to think about car parks and drainage and these needs might be met differently when looking at the area as a whole.”

He added that another issue is a lack of funds in the planning budget, due to North Somerset Council cuts.

A report made by Nailsea Allotments Association, following a site visit, explained existing tenants and 90 people on the waiting list would be invited to take a plot and it would become self-managing.

Plans include plots of 25 metres by 5 metres with 12 smaller areas to cater for unusual needs and car parking for about 12 vehicles.

Mr Morrell said a feasibility study will also need to be done before a final decision is made.

The town council, which also owns allotments in Whitesfield Road and another part of Engine Lane, bought Gaulacre in 2008 for sport and recreation use.