Allotment week or “Much ado about nothing”.

According to the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (what a dynamic name!) more than 11,000 people in the south of England are waiting for an allotment, yet only 230 new plots were created in the South of England in 2010. These figures imply that almost 20% of those on waiting lists are in Brighton alone and that it faces the largest problem in the South.

The 1905 people on the Brighton and Hove waiting list in July can expect to wait for at least 2 years and up to 4 years, though for sites at Albion Hill and The Green people have been waiting for 13 years! While 11 sites- usually the smaller sites- have closed their waiting lists. Many will have been deterred by these long waiting lists, while most allotments are shared by two or more people.

These figures seem dramatic on their own, but are in fact much worse as local authorities have a legal responsibility to provide allotment site- a responsibility that stretches back over a century. Furthermore all newly allocated allotments are half plots, embarrassingly small to be serious about promoting local food sovereignty and leisure space for any aspiring green city.

Some innovative projects have been developed by the dynamic, Brighton based, Harvest http://www.harvest-bh.org.uk/ where one gardener helps another cultivate a garden or land they do not use, and initiatives to grow and pick fruit from public spaces. There are national movements too Land share website http://www.landshare.net/ was set up by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has created a land share website linking land owners to those who want to cultivate land. The National Trust is making provision for 1000 allotments nationally over the next 3 years, a good move that needs to be substantially expanded.

The Council deserves some credit in creating some new allotments in recent years up by the race course and near Foredown Tower in Hove. Sensibly priority is given to applications for community allotments for associations of many people or organisations providing for those with special needs- usually related to health.

In Brighton only half allotments are being allocated to reduce the waiting lists. Although half a cake is better than none, a full sized allotment is crucial for a couple or a family to start becoming self-sufficient in growing a range of food locally. A much more effective response should be to make significantly more land available for allotments to respond to the radical change in demand since the turn of the century.

Of course the challenge is to find funding for the creation and maintenance of allotments and land to cultivate. Brighton does have farm land on the outskirts of the city and considerable space in Stanmer Park. The revenue for allotments per acre could be more attractive to the Council or farmers than agricultural rental.

Innovative responses are needed to ease the pressure on the waiting lists and be attractive to those who may only live in Brighton for a short time. One suggestion has been to charge a higher rental for a larger leisure garden/allotment on the edge of towns and cities with sheds, metered water and electricity, toilet facilities - all outside vandal range.

Such a proposal elsewhere is controversial, as it takes the pressure off the Council to provide lower cost allotments for all. But is this controversy Much ado about Nothing? 1900 householders and their families are having to waiting for up to 4 years and then- after all this time- end up with half an allotment? Is there a better solution as one is certainly needed for thousands of people?

One of the big costs is water and here the Council should press everyone to be more environmentally friendly. So much water is wasted through broken old pipes (e.g. at the Weald there have been two major leaks for several months) and through the thoughtless use of free hoses for hours on end. An investment in new plastic piping, changing tap washers and even metering could transform this, while there is a need for a water conservation education on all allotment sites. (Good information on organic allotments can be found on www.bhogg.org ).

In the long term, a healthier diet and outside exercise for all ages is likely to increase personal satisfaction and well-being while reducing health costs. BBC Radio 4 Gardeners' Question Time panelist Pippa Greenwood, argues for more allotments as they are good for people's well-being, ….but can this be proved? They are certainly popular and should be part of a green agenda.

As a minimum there needs to be some research by health authorities or think tanks to see if this rational argument on “well-being” can show financial savings e.g. in short term and long term health care and absences from work. The old adage of “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” should be tested. I suspect that at the end of this research there would be a strong cost argument to pay people to cultivate an allotment and eat their own apples!

Alan Phillips.

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