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Local Government Committee, 13 Feb 2001

13 Feb 2001 · S1 · Local Government Committee

Item of business

Allotments Inquiry

Dr Mike Cuthbert (Food Trust Scotland): Watch on SPTV

The survey that we conducted was the first to have been done in Scotland since the Allotments (Scotland) Act 1892, which established allotments in Scotland, was passed. There is a fundamental difference between the situation in Scotland and that in England. In Scotland, on other than planning matters, responsibility for allotments resides entirely with local authorities. In England, consent for closing an allotment site has to be obtained from the Minister for the Environment, Transport and the Regions. Consequently, there is quite a difference in the information that is on the database in Scotland and in the experience of allotmenteering.Other than a small survey that was conducted for a political reason, there has never been a survey like the one that we carried out. The survey was constrained in our ability to obtain basic data from local authorities and allotment gardeners. That constraint limited the conclusions that we could reach.Our principal finding was that the situation relating to the closure of allotments, which has caused much concern in England, is static in Scotland. There has not been much movement by local authorities to close allotments. We found that there has been an increase in demand for allotment gardens. Generally, the type of people who want to do allotment gardening has changed. Certainly, there are more of the green-welly brigade—the ecological type of people—but there has also been an increase in the number of younger people and women who want to take up allotments. There is a severe underprovision of allotments—Edinburgh is a dramatic example of that.The problem with demand is that it depends on advertising. Advertising and the general provision of information by local authorities are very poor. Secondly, and most important in our view, the quality of service is a crucial factor. If one has spent three months growing prize marrows, but someone gets into the allotment and in five minutes vandalises it or steals tools, one will not be encouraged to continue. The quality of service relates directly to the level of investment.Rents are extremely low. The highest rent is about £30 a year, and the lowest is £2 or £3. Allotments are expensive to maintain. There is a major opportunity for innovation and the development of other kinds of allotments, particularly in peripheral areas. In Edinburgh, an acre of land for housing is worth £2 million, so obviously it is not possible to expand allotments in central areas.There has been a great change in how allotments are used. People access allotments from places of residence that are at a much greater distance than used to be the case. Traditionally, people could walk to their allotments with their tools and walk back with their produce. We found that it is very common for people to travel a mile or several miles to allotments. We certainly think that two lines of development are needed. One is in investment, to raise quality and standards. The other is in innovation, to develop new forms of allotments, particularly on the periphery of a settlement, where much larger allotments could be developed. Those allotments could be associated with other schemes offering biodiversity advantages, such as community woodlands. A community hut or shop could also be available if the allotments were arranged on a larger scale. We think that allotments have been a forgotten area in local authorities and that there is a need for major innovation and fresh thinking. Allotments can certainly make a considerable contribution to a healthier lifestyle in Scotland. We have some specific ideas on that, and I shall let Arthur Bell tell you something about them.

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Local Government Committee, 13 Feb 2001

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