Allotments: it’s a postcode lottery!
Gardeners’ chances of getting an allotment are down to a postcode lottery, according to the first survey of its kind.
Researchers at the University of Leicester found that 32 local authorities had closed allotment waiting lists, dashing gardeners’ hopes of securing a plot.
In some regions, allotments are so oversubscribed that waiting lists for a plot stretch up to 15 years.
Plot rents vary wildly, too, with one council charging just one penny per square metre – but another demanding 55p for the same area of soil.
Rents were found to have risen, on average, by 21 per cent over the last three years.
Researchers used the Freedom of Information Act to form a national picture of allotment provision. Across England, 216 councils were quizzed, with researchers focusing on rents, water charges, waiting lists and tenancy agreements.
Dr Farida Vis, who lead the research, said: “We see this as the first step in opening up allotment data and making it freely available.
“As allotments are such a highly valued resource, we feel that accurate and open data has the potential to deliver far-reaching benefits for society.”
Runnymede Borough Council was found to be letting the most expensive plots at 55pence per square metre – up from 34pence in 2008.
Bolsover District Council had the cheapest allotments at just one penny per square metre, a rate that hasn’t changed since 2008.
Gardeners renting plots from Cannock Chase District Council suffered the biggest rent rise between 2008 and 2011. The cost of a plot soared from £36.90 (14pence per square metre) in 2008 to £108.92 (43pence per square metre) in 2011 – a rise of 207 per cent.
Only North Hertfordshire District Council (44p/m2), South Lakeland District Council (50p/m2) and Runnymeade (55p/m2) were pricier.
Birmingham had the most allotments: 115 sites with nearly 7,000 plots. Wyre Borough Council had the longest waiting list, with 307 people waiting for just 26 plots.
Gardeners in the North East Lincolnshire Council’s catchment area benefited from the shortest waiting times, with 87 people waiting for 1,852 plots.
No hope of getting a plot
Gardeners hoping to secure a plot in Enfield, where BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Joe Swift has a plot, are in for a disappointment, as the leafy London borough has closed its allotment waiting lists. Other councils turning applicants away are:
• Redditch, Wellingborough, North Hertfordshire, Woking, Waltham Forest, Elmbridge, South Derbyshire, Slough, Lambeth, Telford and Wrekin, Barnet, Haringey, Preston, Melton, Brighton and Hove, Stockport, Greenwich, Swindon, South Tyneside, Eastleigh, Bury, Hounslow, Barnsley, Mid-Sussex, Merton, Brent, Hinckley and Bosworth, Arun, Islington and Camden.
