How Many Allotments In Your Area

[ladylottie]

In the Torfaen district, there are 39 council run allotment sites (each one is called an Association). The council say there are vacancies, but I am unable to confirm this. You have to contact each site individually. The council website states that they charge a maximum of £20 per annum (for a 10 perch plot) and that figure includes the plot rental, Association fees and membership of the National Society of Allotment & Leisure Gardeners.

My lottie site is not council run and I am very thankful to have managed to get my half plot on it before there was a "rush" of people applying for plots. I pay £7 per annum and that includes membership fees and water charges. I have been making noises now for some time, asking for another half plot, but at the moment all plots are taken. I will keep trying.

I don't know how many private allotment sites there are around here in total (or how to find out?) but I do know of another one apart from my site (only because I walk past it on the way to mine).

[ladylottie]

Forgot to say that there are about 91000 people in the Torfaen district.

[snakeshack]

harrow has 1300 plots spread over 30ish sites there are plenty of spare /uncultivated plots and at least 1 site which is totally disused.

[too many weeds]

Well, I signed up for an allotment in June for Eastleigh (Portsmouth) and called last week to find out how I'm doing on the list, there are three allotments all next to each other so it's one list for the three and a current 3/4 year waiting list .

TMW

[alibobsy]

Might depend on how wide an area you extend to. I live in a semi rural village on the edge of a small town. Now the town has around 40k population with 6 sites (assuming 80 ish plots per site a rough count of 480 plots for 40k) so quite low. But the council website does say there are some private sites as well in the area,but doesn't list them.

But the village I live in has only around 3400 people with one main allotment with 86 plots on, which looks much better figure wise.

Having looked into this the site is council owned but has long been ran by a local association who are quite strict on sites being used properly. They have a current waiting list of 56, but we don't want to go on the list till we know we could definately keep up with the work. Currently 34 wks pregnant with child no 4 so concentrating on my garden and foraging from the countryside around us.

[Currysniffa]

In a 5 mile radius there must be around 10 allotments all with over a 2 year waiting list I was lucky as the one I'm on is a 10 acre site with CCTV and completely fenced off, I was told when I put my name down in Feb 2010 that there was a long waiting list for full allotments so I put my name down for half allotment so I was # 1 for half a lottie, two month later I got the call that half a lottie had come up I was well over the moon and did three laps of our lounge I've not had the lottie two weeks and have been up there just about every day..


Pic's on my profile

[Mick O]

Hello Everyone

Our local council (I will not name them) have only 77 plots for a population of 93,000 people (37,000 households). This equates to 0.8 plots per 1000 head of population or 2 plots per 1000 households. The NSALG suggest a national standard of 20 plots per 1000 households so we are well below that. Also national average provision is given as 7 plots per 1000 head of population, so we are also well below that measure.

Does any body else's council have worse provision than this. Any figures regarding allotment provision / local population might be helpful in trying to get our council to improve our situation.

I have been on waiting list for over a year but managed to get allotment in local village in less than a year by joining thier garden & allotment association.
Mick

[CaroltheCarrot]

i waited three years for my plot ,having just got it am discovering that some folks got two on the site,not very fair i dont think

[Currysniffa]

Some on our lottie site have 2 or 3 plots, far do's if they've been on there for years, its only over the last 3 to 5 years that more people want a lottie in my area anyways.

I hope to have another one one day so I can keep some chickens ..

[ohbeary]

This is clearly a thorny problem, the majority of the population think food comes in packets or fresh from Mc'chipshop et al, in urban areas garden space is practically non existent, in rural areas there are gardens, not always big enough and allotments can be as scarce, as in the town, on the other hand a friend of mine looked for an allotment and was welcomed with open arms, there was a block of four abandoned/vacant plots, he took one and offered to clean up the other three, the local society gave him the three for nowt, all four now thriving and not a home for weeds, many local folk benefit from my pals excess produce, he distributes boxes of veggies to anyone in the area who might be a little needy(hate that word), anyhoo one person one lottie is reasonable, but if a person is willing to take on extra ground when no one wants it and keeps it productive and weed free, how can you take it from them?