A New Local Government Network report has called on the government to use brownfield sites to meet rising demand for allotments.
In Can you dig it, published on September 14, the think-tank also urged councils to adopt a policy of ‘edible landscaping’ – including encouraging more roof gardens and the sale of local produce at markets.
There are now 200,000 allotments in the UK – down from 1.4 million in the 1940s. But there are 100,000 people on council waiting lists for allotments, and residents in some London boroughs have to wait 40 years for a plot.
The report pointed out there are an estimated 3,500 hectares of unused, derelict brownfield land that could be put to use. It suggested that the government could offer tax breaks for landowners allowing land to be used, or establishing a Large Private Estates Commission with the power to transfer unused plots for agricultural use.
In Can you dig it, published on September 14, the think-tank also urged councils to adopt a policy of ‘edible landscaping’ – including encouraging more roof gardens and the sale of local produce at markets.
There are now 200,000 allotments in the UK – down from 1.4 million in the 1940s. But there are 100,000 people on council waiting lists for allotments, and residents in some London boroughs have to wait 40 years for a plot.
The report pointed out there are an estimated 3,500 hectares of unused, derelict brownfield land that could be put to use. It suggested that the government could offer tax breaks for landowners allowing land to be used, or establishing a Large Private Estates Commission with the power to transfer unused plots for agricultural use.
