In the U.K local Councils have been urged to address a “chronic shortage” in the number of allotments being allocated by urban developers as demand for the plots of land reaches unprecedented highs.
Allotments are small plots that were originally made available at small cost during the First World War to help people grow their own food. Similar plots exist in many towns in the U.S.
The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents more than 400 councils in England and Wales, says that 200,000 allotments have been lost over the past 30 years. But demand for the sites, which are usually rented for a small annual fee from local councils, has never been greater. The meteoric rise of organic food ranges, coupled with an increase in the number of environmentally minded people keen to grow their own produce, has resulted in waiting lists of up to 10 years in some parts of the country.
The LGA is encouraging councils to use their powers under the Planning and Compensation Act, which allow them to compel developers to provide areas of greenery within new building projects. They also argue that if an allotment is destroyed because of a new development, councils should ensure that a comparable area of land is created as compensation.
Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA’s environment board, said: “Urgent action must be taken to meet this growing demand, and ensuring developers include space for allotments in new building projects would make a real difference.”
The highest demand for allotments appears to be in Yorkshire, where at least 3,500 people are still to be allocated a plot. In the United Kingdom as a whole, about 330,000 people already have an allotment, with another 100,000 waiting for one to become available.
The Independent, March 24th
The first thing we do when visiting London is to go out and buy fruit. Fruit bought in the U.S looks good but tastes of nothing and is frequently rotten inside. Buying peaches or nectarines, just for an instance, is a waste of money. For some reason the Brits can supply fruit that has flavour (admittedly, through Marks and Spenser, a food retailer that knows its job and charges accordingly).
As for vegetables, and particularly tomatoes, most U.S vegetables have neither taste nor any nutritional value. No wonder coffins are now increasingly made for elephant-sized humans.
Never mind! The agribusinesses are happy and that is the most important thing. Scandal? Certainly not. It’s the God-hallowed “market” at work! While people go on buying chemical-tainted stomach-fillers the “market” will go on pretending it is supplying food.