Brighton’s latest community garden, The Mound, is situated in the city centre next to the Earth and Stars pub on the corner of Portland and Church Streets. Derelict for more than 15 years it is a half-acre of hard standing with the central mound being grass and dock-covered builder's spoil. Since being taken in January, what was once a fucking tip is now a colourful, productive vegetable garden with allied conservation area.

Families with kids, tourists, nearby residents, students, unemployed, refugees, travellers have all been and gone and enjoyed the space. There have been veg growing workshops for schoolkids, seedbomb workshops, workshops on reservoir/pond building, films on guerilla gardening and free soup cafes.

Pied wagtails, blackbirds, great tits now feed from the dozen beds and tended budlias while a pond hosts tadpoles, newts and damsen flies. This place opens at weekends and remains on eviction alert during the week.

Developers Hargreaves and their property holding arm Summerbrook are a schnidey outfit specialising in out of town crap. A first opportunist eviction attempt in Feb resulted in one of theirs strong-arming a young female gardener and elbowing her in the throat. In court during a subsequent possession hearing in March they tried it on by requesting costs against a named gardener representing the Mound (raising the spectre of victimisation of the two named Lewes Rd Gardeners - still ongoing with one party). Their two latest attempts to develop here in 2007 and 2009 as a seven and then six story office block failed and although they still have planning permission for offices, their more lucrative residential plans have been thrown out for 'over-development'. So in the meantime they're holding out for a car park!

And as per fucking usual, residents don't get a look in - locals numbering 3,000 and represented by their local action team, have no voice despite univershal support for the garden.

To get involved come down and dig in - workdays Sundays 11-5. Keep the developers out. GARDENS NOT F***ING CAR PARKS - PEOPLE NOT PROFITS!!