Just wanted to say hello - I'm in Manchester and we've just been given a massive plot next door to where I work as it was too big (and too full of the previous tenant's rubbish) for anyone else to want it. We've spent the last few weekends filling skips (yes, he left that much crap), and we're going to have a crack at making raised beds from pallets tomorrow.
Challenges - I think the main one is keeping people engaged. We originally had about ten people interested, but so far only four of us have turned up in the rain and the cold to clear the plot - I suspect we may have a lot of fair weather gardeners! We also need to work out some way of working together, as there's are a couple making their own decisions rather than working as more of a co-operative, although we have a couple of ladies coming from a community garden group next week, so hopefully they will be able to advise how to do this!
On the plus side, someone has given us a shed, if we dismantle, move and re-erect it, and we made £120 from a bake sale before Christmas that we can put towards tools, timber, seeds and plants. We've also got a greenhouse, made of wood and with acrylic panes, although no door, that we're hoping to rescue. We can't wait to get planting!