London's vanishing allotments

The Guardian reported this week on the threat faced by allotmenteers in London, where research from the London Assembly has found that more than 1,500 plots have been lost over the past decade, equivalent to 54 football pitches. - despite rocketing demand.

I haven't got around to reading the full report yet, but you can dig into it here.

Thousands of people are on waiting lists for plots in the capital, and the wait can be as long as 10 years.

The law dictates that if six council tax payers petition the local council for allotments, the authority is obliged to consider their demands. (Unfortunately that excludes people in inner London.) But most people don't know about this little-used law, and it doesn't seem to be used much at all.

I'd be interested to know from anyone with an allotment how long they had to wait for one, and if they're on a waiting list for one, how long they're expecting to have to hang on.

Comments

[Mildew]

I got my plot instantly last year which is rather surprising being in north London, and as far as I can tell, we still have a couple of empty plots (although I hear popularity is rising with us and it won't be too long before there is a waiting list).

Before I lived in Enfield borough though, I was in Haringey, in the lovely posh part of Crouch End (ish). I was on the waiting list for a plot at Alexandra Palace and was told that it would be a four to five year wait! All the other allotment waiting lists around that area are closed, due to such high demand. Despite that, I constantly hear that Haringey is the one borough in London that has the most plot vacancies, and there are a lot going too, by all accounts. But these are in the less desirable places around Tottenham which quite possibly says a lot about which demographic are getting into the grow your own trend.

[Ann]

I got mine before I'd even decided I wanted one ! I met up with the local council's allotment officer to look around my closest plot. He had the paperwork all ready and asked me to pick a plot from the few that were vacant. My friend got one the same week, so now we're lottie neighbours as well as friends !

Love your site, just dicovered it today from looking up your book (which I shouldn't buy as I'm being made redundant, but I probably will) and am going to check it regularly.

[Alex McDonald]

Another London allotment site that is just about to be lost is Manor Garden Allotments, Hackney Wick, East London. They are the most amazing allotments you will ever see, and they are about to be replaced by a footpath.

For almost a century these allotments have provided food for more than 150 families, bringing together a diverse community of people of all ages, races and abilities in East London. However, the allotments sit in the North central section of the proposed Olympic Park, and the London Development Agency (LDA) plan to remove them to make a footpath to the stadia and to house a viewing screen for the four-week ‘green’ Olympic Games.

Yet, experts including David MacKay, lead architect for Barcelona Olympic Village and Port, agree that the allotments can and should be included within the Olympic Park. We have been campaigning to be included as an asset to the so called green and sustainable games since the moment London won the bid.

But short-sighted planning is about to undermine and dismiss the quality of life these allotments offer.

Please sign our petition: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/manorgardens/
visit our website for more info www.lifeisland.org
and come to our Spring Party, 1st April!