If you haven’t heard of ‘allotments’ before, let me introduce them to you.
UK Allotments 101
Allotments in the UK date back to the 1800’s when land was given over to the labouring poor to grow food. With the lack of a welfare state this was much needed during the industrial revolution. In 1908 the Small Holdings and Allotments Act enforced local authorities provide sufficient allotments according to demand.
At the end of the First World War land was made more widely available primarily as a way of assisting returning service men not just the poor. The 1925 Allotments Act further determined that local authorities could not sell off or convert without Ministerial consent.
The Dig for Victory campaign in the 1940’s saw a rise in people taking up allotments and to this day, with the influx of modern housing and lack of backyard growing space, the trend continues to rise.
Whether it’s economic uncertainty, the need for supplementing food, or for life’s simple pleasures to get ones hands dirty, the needs outweighs the available allotment space available in the UK.
An allotment is traditionally measured in ‘rods’, an old measurement dating back to Anglo-Saxon times. 10 poles is the accepted size of an allotment, the equivalent of 250 square metres (or a doubles tennis court), a very sizable growing space for any keen gardener.
Allotments incur a rent to cover water rates and maintenance however it was, and still is, a modest £25 -£125 each per year per plot holder.
Moss Lane School Allotment, Godalming, Surrey
I met with Stephen Goddard, caretaker of the Moss Lane School Allotment plot for some eight years.
Moss Lane School Allotment is one of 10 plots located within the larger Burys Allotment in Godalming. The allotment backs onto the picturesque Church of St Peter & St Paul with the distinctive spire on a lean, Moss Lane School grounds and a reserve sprawling to the River Wey.
Stephen had been retrieving red noses flung up onto the flat roofs after a day of fundraising and it seemed I was a welcomed reprieve.
There are around 10 dedicated plots within The Burys Allotment, allocated as a growing space since the 1950’s.
Around 200 allotment plots are located within the town itself, and a 1-2 year waiting list. As neighbouring township allotments decline in numbers (land being gobbled up for housing developments) the demand is more than ever.
Spring has sprung and much of the early growth is already evident, even in late March. Gooseberry bushes, broad beans and herbs flourish. Rhubarb, even with short stems, fall within the ‘use it than lose it’ harvesting policy before it succumbs to spring frosts.
Spring marks a busy time of year for any gardener and the Moss Lane School plot is no exception. Stephen stealthily conducts ‘the unromantic’ side of composting, digging and turning the soil ready for a busy school term.
The infant school (pupils aged 5-7) are hands-on and the allotment becomes an outdoor classroom on a regular basis. Broad beans, peas, onions and potatoes are due to be seeded before Easter so they can harvest the crop by the end of the summer term. Strawberries tucked into pipes dangle down for easy pickings. Asparagus shoots have sprouted within a matter of days.
The Moss Lane School allotment has a pond that delivers frogs, toads, damson fly lavae and mini beasts for the pupils to observe, and is nestled under an old Willow which has stood there since the 1920’s.
In summer deck chairs adorn the grassy zone outside the customary ‘garden shed’ gracing every plot. The sheds house tools, pots and seeds, and are often homemade from salvaged wood and window frames.
Plentiful fruit trees and berry bushes adorn the allotment. Redcurrants and white currants find their home in a wire cage, avoiding attacks by the local pigeons who can demolish a crop in a lunchtime. Stoats, mice and river rats are kept at bay by the local allotment cat.
The Burys Allotment is a community of growers, young and old, committed to ‘produce’ whether edible or ornamental, for a tenantable 12 month term. Garlic bulbs are swapped, fennel and rhubarb crowns are split and divided for the willing, seeds and harvests are shared. Excess apples are gathered from the allotment and home gardens and sent to the Surrey Garden Cider company, the cider being sold at the local Summer Fair to raise funds for the school.
Excess harvest is often traded at the local cafes for coffee and cake. A train of hoes, forks and carry bags of bootie can be seen walking down the road most Sundays.
Wild Black Thorne (a bitter, sharp ‘sloughs’ fruit that’s good for gin, allegedly) and White Thorne (aka the May Flower) fill communal spaces.
Stephen is an ex Morris Dancer and current Dragon (in the local play on St George’s Day) and is a renown sculptor and painter who embraces pencil, ink and watercolour. Not only do the pupils of Moss Lane School come down to sketch in the garden, Stephen enjoys downtime here too to draw. I can’t think of a more blissful environment.
Back in New Zealand, house prices continue to reach monumental highs and the influx of inbuilt housing in Auckland City have squeezed the life out of any quarter acre dream for many. Did the Unitary Plan think ahead to dedicate space for the thousands without land to enjoy one of the most fundamental acts of growing food? Does New Zealand need an Allotments Act?