Are the Gov trying to remove our right to an allotment...????

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Laurentius

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 13, 2009
2,422
614
Knowhere
I am dubious about the background to this petition, lets leave that at that.
However I do regard my allotment as a little more than just a hobby, it is something that is good for my mental, physical, and spiritual health.
Whether it is good for my financial health is at the moment debatable as I am still investing in infrastructure, but it has certainly cut down on my food bills in the most productive months, and this year I shall get better at preserving and storage.
Some years ago I suffered from depression, the causes of that were complex, but I had a deep abiding feeling that there was nothing in the future for me and I did not wish to live to see it. An allotment however gives me something to live for no matter how bad things seem as it is something you have to plan out for the future and I do. This is the beginning of my third year, and for the first year it was mostly clearing it, as it had not been maintained for some time. I am now on the allotment committee and we manage the land not the Council, so long as the Council renews the lease when it is due all is fine. If there were rumours that someone was eying the land for building we would have heard. I consider allotments to be a vital part of the community and culture, especially for people who do not have access to a garden of there own, as I live in flat. It could perhaps be argued that rents are too cheap because there are too many people who start an allotment but then lose interest or fail to maintain it for one reason or another, not having realised what a responsibility it is. They are bad for the community because they prevent people who are really keen from getting further up the waiting list. Our rent however is set by the committee, not to make a profit but at a rate that enables us to keep on doing the essential work that most allotment holders are unaware of.
 

Macaroon

A bemused & bewildered
Jan 5, 2013
7,209
362
73
SE Wales
The way to deal with those who don't work their allotment is to get them off it and free it up for somebody that will work it,
not to increase rents. For example if the committee deems that there's not been an acceptable level of progress, taking into account individual circumstances, then the allotment is allocated elsewhere; end of........

I think your story is a very good description of precisely the the social value of the allotment ethos, and I'm very glad it's had such a positive effect on your outlook. I hope you continue to find peace and contentment in it, and thanks for the post.
 

bigbear

Full Member
May 1, 2008
1,061
210
Yorkshire
Yup, currently off sick with anxiety and depression and the best thing in my life right now after my wife is my allotment, does me more mental good than anything. Food grown will be a bonus.
That connection with nature plus good old physical graft is a real tonic.
 

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