Hi Philip,

Is there anything such as a local city council allotment (gardening) scheme in operation nearby?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allotment_(gardening)

If there was such a scheme, this may be a good place to bug out to. You could also grow some of your own food and get to know others in nearby garden allotments to have a community response to a big event such as an earthquake.

There some examples of some nearby garden allotments at N56.4695 W2.9925 viewable at google earth where the land is owned by the city council and a small annual rent is payable for their use.