How can I persuade my authority .....

...that allotments aren't something that "they used to do but don't any more"?

I'm sure I've read that they have to provide them if there's a demand. Can anyone advise me about this?

 

Wretched bureaucrats will interpret it any way they want. Especialy if they can sell off allotment land for yet more ticky-tacky houses.

These links might help:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmenvtra/560/56007.htm

and more recently:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmselect/cmenvtra/560/56016.htm

 

Reading this months Garden - it appears that more and more people are growing their own veg. Veg seed sales more than flower seed sales for the first time. That more young people are moving into allotment Gardening - especially with the increase in high density houses, or little or no garden.

Refer them to the RHS Dendy they have the research.

 

Thanks very much both of you, and DaveW too. With all the suggestions I've got between you, I should be busy for a while! :D

 

Hi Dendy you could try The National Society of Allotments and Leisure Gardeners their website is at;

http://www.nsalg.demon.co.uk/

I haven't been in there for a bit so I am not up to date as to what they are doing at the moment but it might be worth a look.

Wish you luck!

oops!!! just checked the link and their site is offline at the moment perhaps you can keep trying it.

 

Thanks, TG - have bookmarked that, and at some point it'll no doubt be on-line again!

I have got all my reading material ready for the next free moment, when I'll start digging for info instead of the usual reasons!

Will keep people posted on my crusade.... :D

 

There is an allotments act of 1908.

The laws in Scotland are worse for allotment owners than in England.

 

D, people on these websites seem to know a lot

www.allotments4all.co.uk
www.allotment.org.uk
www.rivercottage.net

 

Thanks LB and Sawfish - that's useful!

As Sawfish says - there are differences up here.

Following all this up and getting myself as knowledgeable about it all is my winter project, so I'm ready to hit them with it in spring!!

Appreciate all your support and info. :D

 

We moved here in 2000 and I have never seen so many allotments. Sad thing is that the explosion of house building has caused a loss of some patches but also, with the increase of supermarkets here, it is amazing how many people have let their plots go to weeds and rubbish as they can now buy everything and the "everything must be EASY " attitude has taken over. I can't think of a more irritating attitude to life in general and plant growing in particular can you?

 

More 'lazy' than 'easy' Eleagnus7, it takes up precious television watching time for most, especially since we have ten thousand rubbish channels to watch nowadays, which takes our minds off the BBC which might actually force us to think.

People are scared of weather nowadays they're terrified to go out in the rain to the local shop without their giant stinking cars. Imagine if some rain water actually got onto their skin!! We're even too lazy to brush our teeth, we'd rather have some stupid vibrating brush clean them while we stand their like a zombie.

Supermarket veg tastes like its made of 75% cardboard. Theres never any soil on anything either. I'm sure they grow them in laboratories. Horrible stuff.

A supermarket beginning with M near me actually individually wraps their peppers, plus they wrap bananas which are naturally wrapped. No wonder we're becoming farther removed from the land, we're taught to think its dirty. Millions of kids now have asthma due its thought to their lack of contact with the 'dirty' outside world, their immune systems are rubbish.

These days I'd define civilization as 'an attempt to conquer and control nature to make it easier for us all to get fat and unhealthy and destroy everything natural and good in the earth more quickly'.

I hope we're proud that we're turning ourselves into naff dumb big bully America.

[ 14. November 2006, 11:10 AM: Message edited by: sawfish ]

 

You feel strongly about this, don't you Sawfish? Have to say, I'm 100% with you. I'm delighted that my own kids grew up with a healthy attitude to "dirt" and one's even a gardener too, and all are perfectly happy to get mucky helping me around the garden.

It bothers me that so many kids have no idea that tomatoes grow on plants, have no notion of how any fruit forms - bet they'd be amazed at Bananaman's photos of the developing bananas! All meat is hygienically wrapped up too..... Don't start me on that one.... :D

 

All that excessive wrapping on supermarket fruit and veg (and other things too) really annoys me. Equally annoying are those parents who freak out at the slightest bit of 'dirt' that gets on to their children or not allowing them near animals for fear of disease or whatever. No wonder so many kids suffer from all kinds of weird allergies and always seem to be ill.

 

agreed - packaging, and supermarket veg in general for that matter, really annoys me.

 

Nice story I heard on the radio today - apparently some people are taking the unnecassary packaging off before they pack up their shopping, and leaving it with the supermaket - to get the message home