Waiting List for Medway’s Allotments has Tripled in Four Years

Waiting List for Medway’s Allotments has Tripled in Four Years 

Medway Liberal Democrats have discovered that the council’s waiting list for new allotments has grown substantially in the last 4 years. From 695 applicants in 2018, it has grown to 2009 in 2022, tripling in four years. The average waiting time for a person is now 2.5 years, and one person has waited 5 years. Clearly Medway needs many more allotment sites to meet this increasing demand. 

Medway Liberal Democrats believe allotments have the potential to do so much good.  Growing our own fresh food dramatically reduces food miles and the carbon footprint of supermarkets. Studies have indicated that allotment sites vastly increase biodiversity, showing that they can increase insect populations by 70%. Also, with our nation facing a health and cost-of-living crisis, what better way is there to resolve this with more people exercising on their allotments growing cheap healthy food? 

High demand for allotments is not just a problem for Medway. The Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) did a survey in 2022 of local authorities, and they found that 33% had waiting lists over of over 1000 and 58% had an average waiting time of over 18months. However, 42% said they had an allotment strategy and 56% had included allotments in their local plan. Medway Council has done neither of these.  

Stuart Bourne, spokesperson for Medway Lib Dems, says ‘During WWII people of all ages picked up a spade and dug for Britain, as they knew it was vital for the war effort. We are seeing a similar spirit today with the war against climate change. Yet it’s so sad that they are being put off and discouraged because they are having to wait up to  5 years to get their own piece of ground to grow on.’ 

Medway Liberal Democrats are calling on Medway Council to create a allotment strategy for Medway. Incorporate this strategy into the new Local Plan and identify new potential sites for allotments in Medway. Whether its disused brownfield sites or underutilised green spaces, these sites need to be close to where the highest demand is. We also call on them to identify potential sources of funding to furbish these sites with the facilities that they need, so that new allotment plots can be established quickly. 

We are famously a nation of gardeners. Medway Lib Dems wants to unleash this knowledge and enthusiasm and get people digging for Britain again.  

ENDS