How many plots are vacant on your site?

[Snadger]

Just wondering how many plots are vacant on sites nationally and how many have huge waiting lists?
Also wondered if the answers to these questions are area specific?

I'll start the ball rolling, our Association has 39 plots all of which are let and we have one person on the waitng list!

C'mon then, what's it like in your area?

[HeyWayne]

Not sure if any are currently vacant, but there are 2-3 that seem unloved at best.

[Chillimad]

Down here there are 40 sites, with varying plots from 5 to 100 plots, long waiting list no available plots

[Alison]

Of all the sites round Warrington, they are all fully let with waiting lists of between 6 (for a very small site) to 30 or 40 and I think they may now have stopped taking names for the list.

[kirsty b]

The site I'm on is land owned by a local company and there are about 10 plots taken. I'm guessing there is room to have at least 20 more if not more.

Because we are not bound by council rules etc, the unloved plots now resemble jungles, and a few of us have doubted our sanity in taking one on and trying to clear it.
In the short time I've had mine I've seen a few people come and go...and not come back once they see just how much work is involved in getting started.

It's £23.90 a year on here too, which I feel is quite reasonable.

The council site has a waiting list.

[Mrs Dobby]

34 plots on the allotment, all taken, with 3 on the waiting list (1 already has a half plot and wants another half, and the other 2 have only recently - in the last 4 weeks - joined the waiting list!), but about 5 unloved and uncared for plots, so a good chance that some of them will soon become vacant!

[Peter]

Every single plot on my site is taken.

I'm site agent for the council and we have a 12 person waiting list and Councillors have now cottoned on to the demand, so making noises about the existing "failure to cultivate" rule.

So I used my notice boards to post my interpretation so that it was known to all.

Use it or lose it
Until relatively recently allotments were not in demand, this meant that provided the plots were rented out and the tenants paid the rent each year the Town Council were not too bothered about what was grown, or not grown, on plots, provided it was legal and not to the detriment of neighbouring plots or properties.
Times have changed, there is currently (June 2008) a waiting list of 12 people for this site, similar lists on other sites and the Town Council has noticed that some plots are not exactly “model vegetable gardens”.
Local paper, May 29th 2008, page 9.
“Tidy it or lose it, council warns allotment tenants.
Allotment holders could lose their plots if they don’t keep them tidy. The chairman of the town council’s allotment management committee, will propose a plan on Monday to crack down on those not keeping their sites in a good state. It could see tenants losing their sites as well as having their property removed or burnt by the council………..”
The allotment tenancy agreement states
(a) The Tenant shall keep the Allotment Garden clean and in a good state of cultivation and in good condition, subject to the satisfaction of the Site Agent.
What does this mean at our site?
Your site agent has been instructed by the Town Council, as their agent, to notify them of plots which are not being “visibly cultivated”.
I wish to be as fair and above board as possible about this, so:
“Visibly cultivated”, an interpretation, in stages.
1. Absolute minimum activity on any plot is the suppression of weeds and their airborne seeds. E.g. Dandelions. Either strim, rough mow or cover your weeds.
2. Once looking like a recently cut hay meadow, efforts to remove weeds and dig the soil should then be apparent within a fortnight.
3. Alternatively, thorough use of weed killer on the weeds would suffice, with dead-stuff removal and digging starting within a fortnight of it all going brown.
4. Once digging has started steady progress towards plots showing evidence of gardening activity appropriate to the season over at least a quarter of the rented area.

Any tenant whose plot at the start of June 2008 has either, no visible signs of gardening activity at all, or, activity on less than a quarter of the rented area needs to contact the site agent. If a plot is too big for your needs it can be sub-divided.

[grass routes]

Six very large plots on our site in Herts and all taken but our site is the smallest of three. There are plots available on the others but not many. On the larger sites there are plots taken but with nettles and bindweed - neglected and the owners won't give them up. Not fair to those who would like to have a go at growing.

[dexterdoglancashire]

As far as I am aware (and that isn't much!) I don't think we have any plots free at the moment. Our committee are doing a super job.
Bernie aka DDL

[kernowyon]

we have 70 plots on our site and all are taken, the latest update on the notice board says there are currently 12 on the list waiting. as plots now become available they are split down into 5 and 2.5 rods (so we have more than 70 members) and this practice looks like it is here to stay whilst the demand is as it is.

[trebellangeminired]

Our nearest council allotment site is 4 miles away with long waiting list. Hey, ho...

[Gwyndy]

Wrexham - 4 sites but don't know how many plots on each site. The one that I'm on has around 30 I think. 60 people on waiting list - 25 for my site. Council has now started allocating quarter plots only but the areas that they have marked out are minute! I have a half plot and I reckon that you would need about 4 of the new mini plots to equal half of the area that I have.

Allotment gardening is now very popular because of all the publicity from TV gardening programs, Terry Walton on radio 2, etc., but many people do not realise how much hard work you have to put in. People seem to think that half an hour a week is enough because that's what they see on Gardener's World. There is also this myth that you can grow cheap veg - hmmmmmmmmm!!!

[carlseawolf]

65 ish plots all taken , and 45 on the waiting list.

[jackie j]

I think all the plots on our site are taken but ay least one is not being worked at all, and this plot was split into two after an old chap dug it all over before giving it up. One half is being used.
Not sure how many altogether on site approx 40 maybe more.
As far as I know there is a waiting list for the whole area but if you live outside of the boundry I dont think you will get a plot.

[yoanbob]

mines the only one and Its taken