Queueing up for allotments
Allotments are enjoying a growth in popularity with waiting lists of up to two years and over for some plots around the West Midlands.
Allotments are enjoying a growth in popularity with waiting lists of up to two years and over for some plots around the West Midlands.
They have traditionally been thought of as a male domain, but the patches of land are now being taken on by an increasing amount of women and young people.
Plots which have sat empty for years around the region are being snapped up with allotment associations and councils being inundated with applications.
Dudley Council spokesman Vikki Marshall said: "Demand for allotments in Dudley borough is growing as more and more people want to grow their own fruit and veg.
"Due to growing demand, the council hopes to have an additional two sites in the north of the borough by the end of the year and in the future would like additional sites in the south.
"Currently there are waiting lists for every site and therefore the new plots are designed to reduce the current average waiting list of two to three years."
In Wolverhampton growers of all ages and all backgrounds are keen to roll up their sleeves.
Tim Clark, Wolverhampton City Council spokesman, said: "The popularity of allotments in Wolverhampton has increased hugely in recent years.
In Wolverhampton it costs between £11 and £27 to rent a plot for a year and there are discounts available with a leisure card.
Plots are proving equally as popular in Walsall.
Walsall Council cabinet member for leisure and culture Councillor Louise Harrison said: "Our allotments are very popular but the situation varies across the boroughs 36 sites where we have 1,434 plots."
In Sandwell, more than 120 people are on the waiting list for the 524 council-run sites. There are a further 19 with 1,054 plots self-administered by gardeners, 13 of which also have waiting lists.
Councillor Linda Horton, Sandwell's Cabinet member for culture and leisure, said: "This shows people are becoming more and more aware of the benefits of allotments, fresh fruit and veg grown as chemical-free as you wish, exercise and social interaction."
In Lichfield the city council owns allotment land, but it is leased to the Lichfield and District Allotment and Home Gardens Society.
The self-managing organisation has six sites with around 180 plots and they are all taken, with a waiting list of more than 50.
In Cheslyn Hay the waiting list for an allotment is also around two years.
Ken Kelsall, chairman of the Stafford Borough Council horticultural management committee, said there were waiting lists for all the 20 allotment sites across the borough.
