Residents waiting for an allotment could end up waiting six years, councillors at Newcastle Borough Council have been told.

Currently, the authority provides 190 plots spread over six sites, with a 98 per cent occupancy level. However the current waiting list contains 524 names. 

Newcastle Borough Council is not responsible for all of the allotments in the council district. In areas where a parish council operates they are responsible for allotment provision. Parish councils provide 310 allotment plots.

There has been a recent increase in the popularity of allotments in recent years, partly prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent cost of living crisis.

Allotments are becoming increasingly popular due to the recent cost of living crisis (LDRS).

The cost of owning an allotment is calculated by the square metre of each plot, however on average plots cost £80 per year.

Currently there is more demand for allotment than plots available, and analysis by Newcastle Borough Council has shown that there is no geographical concentration of demand. Rather it is spread across urban areas.

A report presented to the Health, Wellbeing & Environment Scrutiny Committee suggests that the council is not in a position to create more allotment plots.

The report states: The creation and operation of new sites by the Borough Council would result in both significant financial pressure to acquire and/or lay out land for allotments, and the need for a staffing resource to manage new sites, neither of which are available within current budgets or staffing levels.

"Therefore, other alternatives need to be considered which are led and managed by the community to ensure that provision is sustainable in the longer term." 

A recent report suggests that the council, based at Castle House in Newcastle, is not in a position to create more allotment plots (LDRS).

The most recent open space strategy for Newcastle-under-Lyme allows for the provision of allotments on house building schemes of more than 250 houses.

The strategy also highlighted that there is a shortfall in allotment provision across the whole of the borough. However a council officer told councillors "this equates to one hectare of land which isn't enough to meet the demand of the 500 people on the waiting list".

Dave Jones (Lab) commenting on the report said: "I had a read through things and through the strategy ahead of time and I think really it needs a bit of ignition and a rocket firing up it because demand for allotments is growing."

He also called for the provision of allotments to be included in every planning application that meets the threshold.

Mr Jones continued: "I have to say I was completely unaware that in our policies we have the ability to ask developers of over 250 properties to contribute to allotments. As somebody who has sat on planning for a long time now I can't recall once that it has been a recommendation within a 106 agreement.

"Which I think disappoints me a lot because we have had some big developments where this could have been part of a 106 agreement, particularly developments in areas where we have a shortage of allotments."

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