Urban gardener Cleve West

For Manor Garden allotments, in the London's Lower Lea Valley, the Olympic dream is one big nightmare. Just to re-cap (you may recall from previous columns): 80 allotments originally bequeathed by a philanthropist named Major Villiers, to be left in perpetuity for the benefit of the local community, are due to be bulldozed to make way for a footpath in the Olympic Park. Pleas by those who garden there for a stay of execution - to save a nature reserve, 100 years of bio-diversity and a close-knit multi-cultural community - have, so far, fallen on deaf ears.

Instead, the London Development Agency (LDA) is in the process of arranging a temporary site on what's known as Lammas Land in nearby Leyton, before the allotments are transferred again after the Games, back to what will then be named the Legacy Park. Muck happens, you might say. But aside from the New Lammas Land Defence Committee being fiercely opposed to the relocation, the proposed site is a high-risk area for crime and the land itself (at present turf on top of bomb-damage rubble) needs considerable remedy by the LDA to make it worth cultivating. If that weren't enough, the proposed site in the Legacy Park is situated between the M11 link road and a widened dual-carriageway section of the Waterden Road. Compare this with the current site, a turret of wilderness next to the river Lea, cocooned by trees and elevated from pollution, noise and bustle, and anyone can see that it's something worth fighting for.

Julie Sumner, a yoga teacher, has become embroiled in a frustrating last-ditch effort to save this jewel by challenging the vision (or rather the lack of it) of the planners. Her argument is based on the principles on which the Olympic bid was won. "Given the promise of the greenest Olympics in history, shouldn't preserving such environmentally efficient land use be of the highest priority?" she asks in a letter to local MPs. "Land we are also using to keep fit, grow healthy food, reduce food miles, share cultures and live in a sustainable and socially integrated way. "Julie's vision is to champion the successful efforts of "ordinary folk" who, for years, like many allotment holders throughout the country, have quietly nurtured and sustained some of Britain's most diverse habitats. She believes that showcasing them to the world as part of the Olympic Park would send out a powerful, popular message.

Representatives of the allotment society were initially denied any dialogue with the top planners but eventually, eight months after those at Manor Garden learnt of their fate, a representative came (without prior warning) to explain why they regard it as impossible for the allotments to be saved. "Eggs must be broken to make an omelette," was one of the analogies used together with arguments that it would be logistically difficult for plot holders being stuck on the biggest building site in Europe. Security concerns would also prevent anyone from entering the site during building.

The suggestion to temporarily vacate the site but incorporate the allotments into the overall scheme has failed to gain the support of local planners who don't seem to see allotments as particularly beautiful things. A lost opportunity, as far as Julie and the other plotholders are concerned. They see it as a chance for Britain to show the world that modern technology and engineering, established communities, small-scale food production, environmental respect and their own style of land stewardship can co-exist.

She has a point. Most good landscape architects consider that local distinctiveness is a priority and that the "blank canvas" mentality ignores the attachment a piece of land might have with its surroundings. Bewildered by the disregard of their achievements, their hope now lies with local MPs to raise awareness. It's a long shot and likely that the sheer scale of the Olympics will dwarf and overshadow their last stand. If the Olympic ideal means anything, it should apply to much more than four weeks of running, jumping, throwing and swimming. Friendship, tolerance, vision and healthy and sustainable living are fanfared by those at Manor Garden allotments. In my book, theirs is a torch worth carrying to the ends of the Earth.

Manor Gardens allotments will be holding an open day on Sunday 21 May, 12noon-5pm

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