Thousands on Sussex allotment waiting list (From The Argus)

Thousands on Sussex allotment waiting list

4:00pm Wednesday 16th September 2009

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Thousands of people are waiting for an allotment in Sussex.

Across the county there are 6,915 allotments but nearly 4,000 would-be gardeners on waiting lists, according to a survey.

Brighton and Hove has the largest number of people waiting - 1,661, followed by 596 in Worthing and 377 in Eastbourne, the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners found.

Nationally, 100,000 people are waiting for a plot.

Now the New Local Government Network (NLGN) has urged the Government to offer tax incentives to large landowners to persuade them to give up parts of their estates for allotments.

However, its report, entitled 'Can You Dig It?' argues ministers should - if the landowners refuse to budge - allow councils to take land for ten-year periods, for gardeners to use.

The report concludes: "It is unfair that, while some individuals own hundreds of thousands of acres, others are unable to rent a small allotment plot.

"Much of the individual holdings, as well as those held by the Church of England and the Crown Estate, are likely to have areas that may be suitable for allotments."

Calling for a 'Large Private Estates Commission' to map private land, the report adds: "Local authorities would then be able to assess the suitability of this mapped land for, amongst other things, allotment and community garden sites."

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