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On this page

• Aims
• Allotment legislation
• Allotments in Parliament
• What you can do
• Petitions
• Written representation

Aims

To act as a resource for groups wanting to lobby for more allotment provision.

If you'd like to start a campaign in your area we can put details of what you are doing on this website, with a link or email address for others to contact you. Email us at allotmore@gmail.com

See the local campaigns page of this site.

Allotment legislation

This section contains a basic guide to allotment law from the NSALG, the Government's reply to a petition concerning allotment provision in 2007, and Faq's ...[more]

Allotments in Parliament

Read what's happening in Parliament - Early Day Motions, debates and questions in the Commons and the Lords.

What your MP can do for you and how to contact him ...[more]

What you can do

Think about one or more of the following actions (in any order):

Find out the facts

Find out about allotment provision in your area.

  • Look for an allotment section on your principal council's website first. It may have links to local private sites or a local federation of allotments, or to town or parish councils.

  • Find out if anything is happening by searching for recent mention of allotments in council meetings, documents etc with a search engine. (take the name of the council website eg http://www.councilname.gov.uk, then knock off the http://www. and type in the following search term: allotments 2009 site:councilname.gov.uk)

  • Ask for waiting list statistics, if these are not available on the council website. Use www.WhatDoTheyKnow.com.
All requests and responses are displayed on this website for others wanting to know the same information.

  • Ask for the council's Allotment Strategy.

  • Ask for the council's PPG17-compliant audit of allotment provision ...[for an explanation, see resources page]

Find others

  • As well as mentioning it to personal contacts, leave around flyers, notices etc and ask if you can say a word at local meetings.

  • Consider getting an email address for this.

  • Look to see if there is a Transition Initiative where you live. They will have people waiting for an allotment.

Form a society

  • Set up your own Allotment Association. Eg Awaiting Allotment Association. This gives you a collective voice.

  • Apply to become affiliated to your local Federation of Allotment Societies or similar organisation that communicates with the council on behalf of allotment societies.

  • Join the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Ltd. www.nsalg.org.uk They have Regional Representatives who might be able to help you, as well as having representation on a national working group. Copy the regional representative into your correspondence with the council.

Ask your council

  • Make sure that councillors are aware of the statutory nature of allotment provision. Provide them with a link to the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 on the OPSI website.

  • Make sure that councillors are aware of the numbers on the waiting list. Mention that demand may be more than this because people are put off joining long waiting lists.

  • It's easier for councillors to do something if you tell them specifically what you would like them to do. E.g. rather than just saying "something should be done", say "we would like the council to turn this piece of derelict public land into allotments".

  • Write to your own local councillor - they want to know which things are important to local people.

  • Write to relevant members of the Cabinet in your council (if there is one). For example whoever has the portfolio for health, environment, leisure etc. Make the case for allotments helping to meet council targets in these areas.

  • Attend Local Area Forums or other public council meetings where there is a public question time. Keep allotments on the agenda. Ask councillors to respond in public about what progress has been made.

  • Get together with 5 others and make a written representation to the council. Submit it to the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council.

  • Start a petition, and ask a councillor to submit it at a council meeting. It doesn't have to be huge. If there are enough names to make up an allotment site, then submit it, and then do the same again later in the year when there are more people to sign another petition. You can't submit the same petition, so be creative!

  • Keep a look out for any unused Council land which could be used for allotments, especially if it has been allotment land in the past, and contact the council about it.

Consider other land

Others may be agreeable to renting out land, eg farmers, waterways, railways, churches, schools, National Trust.

Petitions

See examples on the Resources page - copy one of these or adapt it.

Ask one of your local councillors to present it to the council.

If the council are unable to deal with the contents of your petition, they will refer it to a committee for discussion.

Find out which councillors will be part of that committee and write to them beforehand with any evidence or documents which add to your case. In addition, you should be offered a chance to address the committee when it meets.

Written representation

Written representations may be made to the local authority on the need for allotments by any 6 residents on the electoral register or persons liable to pay council tax, and the local authority must take those representations into account (section 23(2) of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908).

Refer to the legislation in your letter. Send it to the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council, as well as your local Councillors.

After a while, write to ask how your representation has been taken into account in assessing demand.

Last updated: 30 May 2012