Some are being sold to housing developers – some are being created from imported soil – some are overgrown, and some are extremely well hidden. How exactly do you get an allotment?
A plot of land on which to grow vegetables is a British entitlement. Ever since the war, people were allocated strips of unwanted mud for growing their own. And now we’re entering a new phase of thrift-for-pleasure (not requirement), suddenly demand has peaked. Unfortunately, we are also in a phase of housebuilding-for-profit, which is not such good news. This means that, not only are modern gardens shrinking, but house-developers are slowly eating into our existing garden land. Allotments are more attractive than ever.
So we knew, as soon as the moving van trucked our extensive collection of garden pots (square ones for parsnips, round ones for runners, shallow ones for strawberries and mint) down to this little village, that an allotment must be the next addition to our land-portfolio. t took us two years to reach the top of our waiting list. But don’t let that put you off – at £20 a year, it’s an investment worth paying for. More than that – it’s your right!
Did you know that, in the UK, local councils are obliged (by law) to provide allotments? See, I knew we paid council tax for a good reason (lovely green recycling lorries aside). If yours does not have any, you should round up a group of neighbours and petition them until they agree to build you a lovely new allotment ground. In Devizes, Wiltshire, existing allotment land has actually been extended by the lovely council, complete with topsoil shipped in from Bournemouth (I don’t know, either), and little boxy sheds (made from ticky-tacky). (Not really – I have been watching Weeds, which is about a completely different growing culture.)
Well, I’ve said my piece, and I am going to get some coffee now. Here’s the definitive link for wannabe allotmenteers:
http://www.nsalg.org.uk/#
