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Allotments in the future

Phillips, Neil; Ayling, Sarah; Bunney, Sarah

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Authors

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Dr Neil Phillips Neil.Phillips@uwe.ac.uk
Research Fellow in Fungal Analog Electronics

Sarah Bunney Sarah.Bunney@uwe.ac.uk
Research Associate DRY & ENDOWS



Abstract

Allotment gardening has a long history in the UK and has gone in and out of popularity over the last 250 years. Allotments were initially created in response to social unrest among rural labourers who had been left with nowhere to grow food for their families following the enclosure of common fields in the 1700 and 1800s. The importance of allotments and private gardens in producing food during both the First and Second World Wars when 1,500,000 plots produced over 20 million tons of food is well known [1]. Since the Allotment Acts of 1887, 1890, 1907 and 1908 local authorities have had an obligation to ascertain demand and provide sites for allotments. The 1925 Allotment Act stated that land purchased by councils specifically for allotments cannot be sold or converted to other uses without ministerial consent (a Section 8 Order) [2]. However, post 1960, an overall decline in the popularity of vegetable growing, combined with pressure for land within or on the outskirts of settlements for housing and business development, lead many private owners, such as the Church or England and British Rail, as well as some local authorities to sell off sites [1].
Over the last 25 years there has been resurgence in the popularity of allotments and home grown food in the UK. There are many factors behind this resurgence including concerns over the environmental costs of food transport and packaging [3] and the use of chemicals in food production, an interest in fresh home-grown produce [4] and awareness of the physical. Mental and social benefits of being out of doors [5] and desire to become part of a community [6].
In 1996, in UK, there was an average of 4 people waiting for every 100 plots but by 2012 around 87,000 people were on waiting lists for just over 152,000 statutory plots managed by principal local authorities, the equivalent of 57 people waiting for every 100 plots [7].
At a more local level, in Bristol alone there are 112 allotment sites of which 93 are owned or administered by Bristol City Council. These 93 sites comprise 3920 plots, and in March 2020 there were 521 vacant plots and 5083 people on waiting lists. Bristol City Council’s Allotment Strategy mission statement (2018 ) [8] is ‘To work towards the vision of a sustainable Bristol through maximising the participation of its citizens in allotment gardening by the improvement of allotment sites and their management, and through the promotion of the benefits and enjoyment of allotments and food growing.’ It is a requirement of the Allotments Acts 1908 that an allotment authority must consider providing allotments where there are 6 people or more requesting to rent allotments [1]. However the Bristol City councils own strategy document (2018 [8]) states that ’Further surplus land is likely to be declared surplus over the next ten years unless demand increases significantly on those sites, whilst some are likely to remain as open space for the foreseeable future’ , reflecting the fact that demand and supply are not always in the same location.
There are many different types / models of allotment sites and community garden. Ranging from semi-commercial scale schemes, such as the Sims Hill shared Harvest group in Bristol [9] where there is a ‘farm manager’ who coordinates activities on the site, and members volunteer to help in return for part of the crop with the remainder of the crop being sold, to garden squares [10] and small community flower beds that may only be a few meters square. However the traditional allotment garden usually consists of a number of 250 m2 plots, often laid out in more or less straight rows.
Some sites have water supplied direct from the mains while others rely on incident or collected rainwater. Even when mains water is included in the rent charged for an allotment plot the amount is usually limited and there can be tensions between people who use little water and those perceived as using more than their fair share. The number of water trough or taps are usually limited and people whose plots are some distant from the tap may have difficulty carrying water to their plot. Some sites allow plot holders to put up a shed while a few have a communal hut and even fewer a toilet. The NSALG has for many years been encouraging plot holders to (predominantly) use rainwater, and many growers consider that rainwater is better for plants than tap water [11].
As part of the Drought Risk and You (DRY) project we have been speaking to members of the NSALG, allotment groups and professional horticulturalists to develop a greater understanding of water use on allotments and for growing crops. There is a great deal of published information and guidance for growers and community garden groups on which plants to grow in different situations and the most effective way to utilise available water from all of the gardening organisations in the UK and the government [7, 11]. Watering and water availability was an important concern for all the people that we spoke to. This highlights the importance of collecting, storing and using water effectively to ensure an adequate supply of water throughout the growing season
The UK climate change projections (UKCP2009 and 2018) predict that within the next twenty to thirty years the UK will experience warmer and wetter winters and hotter drier summers [12] Computer modelling for the catchment of the River Frome, conducted as part of the Drought Risk and You (DRY) project indicated that in the Bristol region by 2050 we could expect 2.8 - 3 oC rise in summer temperatures and a rainfall deficit of 19.8 - 20 mm compared to the 1961 - 1990 average [13]. Higher summer temperatures will increase the amount of water lost by evaporation and evapotranspiration, and is likely to increase human demand for water. The reduction in summer rainfall is likely to further increase pressure on existing water supplies not just for gardening but also for public water supply and recreation. This reinforces the importance of collecting and storing water during the winter when for the UK rainfall normally exceeds water use or during periods of high rainfall in summer.
The way in which allotment sites are traditionally arranged and managed does not always support this, because water storage and water use efficiency is a secondary concern when the sites are created. We have considered how an allotment site could be organised if water is placed at the centre of the design.
More efficient use of water in a garden or allotment can be achieved in several different and complimentary ways: rainwater collection and storage, site layout to minimise run-off and improve water infiltration, cultivation methods to improve soil water holding capacity, choosing plants that need less water, improving watering efficiency.

Citation

Phillips, N., Ayling, S., & Bunney, S. (2020). Allotments in the future.

Conference Name Moving Towards Water Resilient Communities
Conference Location Virtual
Start Date Sep 3, 2020
End Date Sep 4, 2020
Acceptance Date Sep 3, 2020
Online Publication Date Sep 3, 2020
Publication Date Sep 3, 2020
Deposit Date May 20, 2021
Publicly Available Date May 20, 2021
Pages 12-18
ISBN 9780861972036
Keywords Allotment, growing, water resilience, climate change
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7411050
Publisher URL https://www.watefnetwork.co.uk/files/default/Conference_2020/WATEFCON2020_Proceedings.pdf

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