Putting the spotlight on the biggest issues in gardening today
LIZ POTTER Liz is an experienced gardening journalist and editor
Digging deeper
The number of people waiting for an allotment in the UK has almost doubled in the past 12 years. A recent Greenpeace study shows there are at least 174,183 outstanding applications across Britain, with an average wait of at least three years.
Bristol City Council tops the stats with 7,630 people waiting, Sunderland City Council has 7,293 and Portsmouth City Council 6,299. Yet these figures could be just the tip of the iceberg. “Many councils close the waiting list as soon as it reaches a certain limit, so the figures could be much higher,” says Dr JC Niala, who led the Freedom of Information request.
Interest in allotments rose during the Covid lockdowns, when people realised the health and recreational benefits of growing their own food. But demand hasn’t dwindled, driven by fears over food security and the cost of living. Allotments offer many other benefits that have won the attention of urban trendsetters, environmentalists and government stakeholders alike. Even the NHS recognises their value in keeping the population out of hospital.
Historically, allotments reached an all-time high of 1,400,000 plots in 1943. But cheap food and waning interest has led to many being sold off. Research by Sheffield University shows that UK allotment land has declined 60 per cent since the 1950s, with an eight times greater loss in deprived areas. Today the UK has just 330,000 plots, mostly council-owned.
The National Allotment Society (NAS) urges those on a waiting list to lobby local councillors and MPs. “People have a statutory right to an allotment,” says Mike Farrell, NAS Chair. “But councils are concerned that providing allotment land is going to cost them money, when in fact it needn’t cost anything. You can find a field and get people on the waiting list to turn it in to plots.”
The Association for Public Sector Excellence (APSE), which represents local councils, says it’s not that simple. “You can’t just give people a patch of land and say, ‘Get on with it’,” says spokesman Matthew Ellis. “You’ll get complaints that the paths aren’t wide enough for a wheelbarrow or that the shed got broken into because there was no fencing. They’ll also want water and power on site. There’s a whole list of expectations.”
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