Produce from my plot - just to show I didn't just grow flowers!
Following on from my last post about how difficult it is to get an allotment I thought I would write about the organisations and individuals that are trying to do something to provide land to those who want it. Whilst local councils and central government might not see the need for a new approach to allotment there are fortunately others who do.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, TV cook, author and promoter of all things foodie saw that something needed to be done to match the growing demand for land on which to grow. In 2009 he launched ‘Landshare‘ a website which puts people who want to grow their own produce but don’t have the land in touch with people who might have some spare land, or a garden that is too big for them. So far the venture has proved incredibly successful with over 66,000 members. Older people with large gardens that are too big for them to manage any more now have people growing fruit and veg and sharing with them the produce. There are some people who are just too busy to garden who have released part of their garden or some who have fields that are doing nothing and have given these up to allotments.
The National Trust has also joined the fight for more land. In 2009 it announced it wanted to create 1000 new allotments by 2012. They reached this target this summer. Some allotments are in walled gardens, others on vacant land near the Trust’s properties. In Woolacombe, Devon a field owned by the Trust was turned into 50 plots including one for the local Woolacombe Primary School. At Springhill in Northern Ireland a run down walled garden was brought back to life and now there are 27 allotments. Monk Coniston allotments must surely be a candidate for best location and view. Perched above Coniston Water in the Lake District the walled garden was disused until the National Trust received a Lottery grant and there are now 10 plots for the local community to grow fruit and vegetables.
The Trust joined forces with Landshare and available plots at Trust sites can be found on the Landshare website and just because they have reached their target of 1000 allotments they don’t plan to stop there with another 200 planned in the future.
It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that someone saw an opportunity to take advantage of the huge demand for allotments and set up a privately rented allotment company. The New Allotment Company opened its first site in 2010 in Kent. The charge is £150 for a year or you can pay in monthly instalments. This includes water, storage and manure. It sounds expensive and may well price some people out of the opportunity to grow their own. The other downside is that you sign up for 3 years with the opportunity to leave after the first year but after putting in all the hard work of establishing your plot it would be difficult if after the 3 years the rent rose and became prohibitively expensive. However, the plots are pre-prepared so no dreadful weeds to remove and the site provides secure storage, toilets and an all weather shelter and I know from my own experience that those would be welcome additions to my own allotment site.
It is good to know that people have taken on the task of dealing with the lack of land for growing but this should not be an excuse for local authorities to neglect their responsibilities. Politicians like to suggest they are in touch with the voter and listen to what they want but they seem to have some wax in their ears on this one. It would be nice to see a local councillor somewhere in the country to take up the issue of allotments and the lack of them.
wellywoman 
I think the Landshare scheme is a brilliant idea – but what happens if the person who owns the land dies or moves house – where is the poor gardener left then.
I’m not sure about that Elaine. I know there is a contract that you can download and get both parties to sign but ultimately you wouldn’t have any right to the land. I guess the ideal is for there to be more allotments but until that happens at least this gives people a chance to grow. It would be heartbreaking to put so much hard work into establishing somewhere only for it to be taken away from you for whatever reason.
Landshare is an interesting concept but there has to be give and take on both sides. The land owner has chosen to give over their garden to a stranger and may not agree with how the garden is then managed. The gardener may have some way to travel in order to access the garden – and may not be able to get in at all when the householder goes on holiday! It’s a situation that needs to be carefully handled. On another tack, Islington Council in north London have the right idea: they’ve transformed a disused estate dumping ground into mini-allotments, complete with an eco-toilet, disabled access to raised beds and a secure lock up for tools. Very heartening. (Wish Camden would follow suit!)
Hi Carolyn,
I know landshare isn’t ideal. I think I would find it a bit strange using someone else’s garden but then again if I faced a huge waiting list I might just be grateful I at least had somewhere. It really is up to council’s to get their act together on this one, so it is good to hear about those allotments in Islington.
We are lucky that our allotment is basically at the bottom of the garden. I can see how sites with some kind of security and safe storage would appeal for those who live at a distance.
I am a little ambivalent about private allotment companies. Presumably they are wanting to make a profit so the cost could put some people off. On the other hand some people may be encouraged by a site that is pre prepared and ready to go, though it makes me think of garden makeovers and instant gratification – while I tend towards gradual change and general grumbling when things do not go to plan 🙂
This is all very encouraging isn’t it. In Hastings we have so many allotments sites here I must research more and do a post in the New Year. Did you see the hairy bikers show where they visited allotments and made recipes from the veg? They also featured an a veg growers competition. While I prefer imperfect organic veg it was impressive to see. x
Hi Green Lady,
I didn’t see the Hairy Bikers programme. I have been rather overwhelmed by the number of cookery programmes on over the last week or so. I’ve still got the Jamie ones recorded, it might be Easter before I get round to watching them! I’d love to hear about your local allotments and what the situation in Hastings is regarding prices and waiting lists. The more information that is out there the better.
It’s great that there’s other ways for people to access land to grow food, though something really does need to be done about the lack of allotments. It’s isn’t just a case of people waiting so long for an allotment to become vacant, some people can’t even get on a waiting list as it’s been closed.
I have enjoyed your posts about allotments, a serious subject, well written. I think sharing gardens is a wonderful idea, especially as we all get older. What we take on when we are in our 40’s can become too much when 70 or 80, especially as it costs so much to move house these days.
Hope you have a wonderful Christmas.
I think it’s so sad that many allotments are being sold by the councils to developers. Ken Livingstone went down in my estimation for not protecting a very old and well loved allotement site from development as part of the Olympics. I think it was made into a path to get people to venues. What a waste. I do like how HFW takes the initiative with some important issues.
Couldn’t agree more Janet. I don’t think the planners and developers appreciate how much hard work and love has gone into people’s allotments and then to have them taken away. All those fruit bushes and trees grubbed up. It is sad.
I think Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall’s ‘Landshare’ is a great idea. We have so few allotments in Islington, North London, that the waiting list is now closed and those on the list will have to wait many years for a plot. With this lack of growing space in mind, my neighbours and I have got together to encourage over 100 households in our neighbourhood to grow veg in their front gardens, by supplying free growbags and seeds delivered to their front doors. Now coming up to its third year, we have funding from Islington Council so that we can take our veg growing scheme to more people next year, and as well as growing food, it’s a fantastic was to get to know your neighbours.