SHARING surplus vegetables, composting toilets, paths and lighting, are all part of possible future plans for Skipton's allotment sites.

Allotment tenants often grew more produce than they needed and could share it with a new 'community fridge' being run by Skipton charity SELFA at the former Ings School in Broughton Road, a meeting of Skipton Town Council heard.

Composting toilets could also be a bonus for community allotments run by the likes of U3A, Incredible Edible and Brooklands School, said the council's allotments officer Summer Lawson.

Ms Lawson, in her report to the public services committee, told councillors she wanted to encourage tenants to share their surplus produce with SELFA's community fridge - a national project that encourages people and businesses to share their surplus food with those who need it.

"A lot of tenants are growing more than they need and a lot goes on the compost heap. Tenants are aware they are growing surplus and here is a facility where they could take it," she said.

The council's allotment sites are at Broughton Road and at Middletown. All plots were currently taken up, and there is a 'healthy' waiting list of new tenants, said Ms Lawson.

A 'big issue' was the availability of toilets on the sites, and an idea would be to introduce composting toilets, said Ms Lawson.

"Quite a few people mention the lack of toilets," she said, adding that the availability of facilities might increase the use of community allotment sites.

She said she would contacting other allotment sites to see how they managed their toilet facilities, and believed it could become part of a 'bigger green focused scheme'.

Ms Lawson told councillors how an allotment clean-up day, which had seen tenants encouraged to put their rubbish in skips, had been a success and how she had met on site Northern Rail to discuss the issue of flooding at Broughton Road next to the railway line.

She also planned to approach schools in the area asking pupils to enter a competition to design posters for the allotment boundaries encouraging people not to fly-tip or litter in the area.

School children used the paths close to the allotment sites and getting them on board could help get the littering message across, she told councillors.

Councillors generally supported all the ideas for the allotment sites - although some concern was raised about lighting and whether it was needed.