Allotments

Today people have an allotment mainly because they enjoy gardening and want to eat fresh, healthy food, often organically grown. At present there are over a 1,000 allotment tenants on a total of 32 sites city wide.

The profile of allotment holders has also changed. The percentage of women allotment holders is increasing. In the late 1960s only two per cent of tenants were women, compared to 18 per cent in 1996 and 40 per cent today. Plymouth City Council is confident that in a few years time there will be equal numbers of men and women working Plymouth allotments. Groups of friends and neighbours are also being encouraged to take up allotment plots. Teenagers are becoming interested and young children are often seen helping their parents and grandparents to cultivate, which all bodes well for the future.

Allotments were originally introduced during the enclosure of common lands in the 18th and 19th Centuries. An 'allotment' of land was provided to the newly created landless poor as form of compensation for the loss of the right to use the common lands and to alleviate the effects of extreme poverty caused by the enclosures. Up until the end of the Second World War allotments continued to provide this vital function especially in urban areas where an allotment was the essential ingredient to ensuring a family had a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables.

Allotments changed in the 20th Century from being a vital source of food through the depression of the 30's and two world wars, to becoming more of a leisure activity today.

Allotment gardening is a growing passion for many people in Plymouth. People from all walks of life, ages and ambitions take on an allotment every year. With increasing public interest in growing their own foodstuffs, whether it is using organic methods or using a more conventional approach allotments offer us a chance to grow our own food.

They also provide us with the opportunity to be out in the open, learning about cultivation, providing social opportunities, a sense of community through sharing growing experiences and ideas.

Allotments in Plymouth can be a particularly good way to observe local wildlife eg birds, butterflies, insects. They also provide wonderful habitats for animals in areas where there is little green space.