ONCE-DERELICT land will soon be overflowing with plants and flowers after a landmark allotment project was opened.

As part of the £200m redevelopment of the Barrow waterfront 15 new allotments have been built as a part of the rejuvenation project.

The plan to build new allotments was funded by the Cumbria Local Enterprise partnership, and managed by Cumbria County Council.

Project manager David Haughian praised the project as a great thing for Barrow.

He said: "The allotments are a way of giving back to the Barrow community.

"They now have quality allotments, measuring 30 metres by 10 metres."

Now that the allotments have been delivered, the county council will be taking a step back from the project, allowing locals themselves to manage the project.

Mr Haughian said: "It was important to let local people have their say in running the allotments.

"We wanted the community to be the ones that make their own choices."

The council will lease the allotments to a local allotment association, but other than that, the day-to-day running of the site, and any fees will be controlled locally.

The new owners of the allotments are said to be extremely happy with their new plots of land.

Mr Haughian said: "When I spoke to the allotment holders I think they are all really happy with the end product that's been built."

Although only a small number of allotments have been built, it is a welcome development for a town that suffers long waits for spare allotments.

Barrow Borough Council operates more than 800 allotments across the area.

Currently the wait stands on average at three to five years for a resident to get an allotment in Barrow or Walney.

However, these allotments, alongside playgrounds and other community services may face the axe as the council struggles to make savings of more than £2 million.

The price of allotments has already risen in the past year.

The cost of a standard allotment plot, that covers between 168 and 334 square meters will rise 2.34 per cent from £92.75 a year to £94.92.

It has not yet been confirmed if the new allotments will differ in price to those run by Barrow Borough Council.

Read more about the proposed changes to services across Barrow