Forty-year wait for allotments in N. London

[marksimonbrown]

'Forty-year wait' for allotments 
BBC News Online
Monday, 10 August 2009
Ref: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8193100.stm

People in a north London borough must wait up to 40 years for an allotment as demand grows, a survey has indicated.

More than 80,000 people are waiting for a plot with a typical delay of three years, a poll of 301 UK councils found.

The longest wait was in Camden at 40 years, followed by 30 years at Blyth Valley in Northumberland and 25 years in Islington, north London.

The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (NSALG) said interest in allotments was "encouraging".

'Many benefits'

The survey by home insurance firm LV also found that 56% of allotment users took up a plot to save money.

Just over a third of respondents said they had an allotment to control the amount of pesticides used on their food.

NSALG secretary Geoff Stokes said: "It's encouraging that so many people are interested in getting out and getting in to some green space.

"Allotment gardening is a fantastic hobby and has so many benefits - it's cheap, it's good for you, and it can save you hundreds of pounds a year on food."