Birmingham have 1,000 allotments available!

[Hazel at the Hill]

Birmingham council are having a drive to fill 1,000 spare allotment plots in the City - good! I think we'd all agree that we'd like to see all plots being worked! Incentives include free seeds and gardening guides.

Reported by the BBC here.

Mind you, I thought that there was a waiting list for plots (in general) so I was surprised that there are that many available out of the 7,000 in the city.

So anyone in Birmingham who is outgrowing their garden, here's your opportunity. You might even meet a grape or two!

[alldigging]

Wow! A huge number. Have they had a cull of bad plot holders? And by cull I mean throwing them off their plots of course.

[Lazy Gardener]

Bit late maybe but a little heads up.

Not a cull of bad plot holders but the price DOUBLED last year.

£75 for a full plot. Which is not as big as some others i have read about.

[WendyC]

Always interesting to hear the background story. I wonder how many of those plot holders who presumably couldn't afford the rent can ill afford to buy in vegetables either.

[rustylady]

I know it seems a high rent, but if you work it out it's still only £1.50 per week.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Bit late maybe but a little heads up.

Not a cull of bad plot holders but the price DOUBLED last year.

£75 for a full plot. Which is not as big as some others i have read about.

It has risen steeply in the last 3-4 years, but I didn't think it had doubled in 12months? I'll go back through the minutes from our AGM and check.

My half plot is good value for what I get out of it.

[WendyC]

I know it seems a high rent, but if you work it out it's still only £1.50 per week.

True, but can you pay weekly? Or monthly? Perhaps some folks were caught out by the rise and didn't have the cash to hand at the right time.

[Lazy Gardener]

£75 for a full plot is steep when you consider the poor weather last year.

My strawberries were useless last year, Tomatoes a waste of time.

Something crawled into my turnips. So a lot went to waste.

Fruit bushes were young so nothing there.

I cannot live on rhubarb alone.

I have had a few £ in strawberries and raspberries and rhubard this year.
half a saucepan od peas and some onions also.

God im boring

[carly]

wow.... our allotments are 10 pound per year... I have never paid more than 15.00

[Lazy Gardener]

I know it varies but how is a plot supposed to be?

In feet please rods and yards are beyond me


Mines an awkward size. Narrow at the front and tapers a lot.

8 - 10ft wide at the front. but 3 times that across the back.

Left side is getting on for 100ft, But the last 30ft is rock hard and a job
for the future, Right side is just over 60ft.

Trust me to have the daft plot.

[Thelma Sanders]

True, but can you pay weekly? Or monthly? Perhaps some folks were caught out by the rise and didn't have the cash to hand at the right time.

Ours are paid a year in arrears, so get a year to save up to pay the rent - I thought most were paid that way ?

[horticultural_hobbit]

I pay £50 quid a year for my half plot in hobbitland(literall five minutes from sarehole mill) . Senior Citizens, those that are pensioners, do get a reduced rate. We have number of gone to seed plots on our site. I am toying with the idea of taking up the other half of mine-watch this space-for which I would be paying £75. Yes, that's not bad on a weekly basis. Less than going to the gym. But still a lot of money, in my mind. I got mine two years ago, when the price was something like £30 for a half plot. It does irk me, the price of them. But I did with it. I have after all put raised beds on there, and a wendy house.

[WendyC]

Ours are paid a year in arrears, so get a year to save up to pay the rent - I thought most were paid that way ?

We pay in advance in April for that financial year so my next bill is April 2014. We do know a year in advance of rises. I'm hoping my bill WILL be higher next year as I'm hoping for a second plot by then!

[Greenfingerpaula]

The price for the largest plot in birmingham is £90, I work for the parks dept in the council and even WE didn't know there were empty plots, when people call we just tell them they're on the waiting list they never give us the background info!


🐞Every ☁has a silver lining🐝Every 🌸 has a 🌿

[Lazy Gardener]

Exactly.. On another forum they said i was the spawn of satan for going direct to the allotment on a Saturday morning when the gates were open to enquire instead of phoning the council and sticking my name on an endless list that never moves.

Went in Saturday had a chat, Went back Sunday to say i wanted a full plot not half of one. They showed me around and i chose a plot there and then.

I had to wait a couple of weeks for my half plot at another site though. Bad timing i guess.

Its strange how the story varies when you speak to the people on the allotment. Getting hold of the council and actually getting something done is almost impossible they said.