Council to create 500 new allotment plots

Rochdale is to get 500 new allotments over the next five years.

The borough currently has 524 plots – well under half the recommended number of 15 plots for every 1,000 households.

Currently the shortfall of 890 allotment plots in Rochdale is reflected by the 983 people currently on the waiting list for one.

And the council says if it does not act, someone joining the allotment waiting list today would find themselves waiting 31 years for a plot to become available.

That is why council officials are pumping than £170,000  into the Boroughwide Allotments scheme over the next three financial years as part of its capital investment programme.

This will pay for the creation of 100 new plots every year for the next five years, starting in 2019/20.

Councillor Neil Emmott, the council’s cabinet member for the environment says the scheme will bring a host of benefits to the borough – not least for residents’ wellbeing.

“Above all, allotments are really good for your health,” said Councillor Emmott.

“They play a vital role in helping people to stay fit and healthy. Costing as little as 55p per week, working on your own allotment is a great workout which won’t break the bank.”

Demand for plots is growing faster than the council can allocate plots, with 160 new applicants adding their name to the waiting list last year.

It is a fact not lost on Councillor Emmott.

He said: “We have demand for allotments and it makes use of land which is surplus to requirements not required for anything else, such as housing.

“It’s also environmentally friendly to have people growing their own vegetables and fruit.

“We have a waiting list and a plan for allotments, so it makes commercial sense as well.”

Councillor Emmott – who represents West Middleton ward – says keeping up the number of plots in the borough has been ‘let slip over a number of years’ but is an issue the council is now keen to address.

The council is currently looking into potential new sites for the new allotments, but is unable to release any firm details as yet.

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporter