Allotments are getting more popular these days, but they are in short supply. Sites are disappearing, and waiting lists are getting longer (for example ours is usually at least a year). We have links to campaigns to save allotment sites, studies about allotments, and lots of other interesting articles and web sites.

More people want to grow their own fresh tasty food, and they want to know where their food comes from and whether it contains chemicals. They want the chance to enjoy the exercise and fresh air, especially if they live in a flat or don't have a garden.

And many people are concerned about the environment and keeping food local (see these articles in The Ecologist and The Good Life, for example, or click on the picture at the bottom of the page).

But allotments are in short supply. Sites are disappearing, and waiting lists are getting longer. Our waiting list is at least a year.

Have a look at the London assembly study on allotments: A Lot to Lose: London's disappearing allotments, October 2006, and look at the study of allotments commissioned by the government which found that one-third of people wanting an allotment waited over one year, and two thirds waited over six months. There is a campaign in parliament to get councils to provide more - get your MP to sign the Early Day Motion.

Allotment sites can disappear. See the campaign to save Manor Gardens allotment site. This 100-year-old site has been swept away to make way for the Olympics, despite a strong campaign to show that it could be part of the greenest Olympics ever.

Waiting lists can be very long, for example the Hackney Allotment Society suggests people might need to wait three years for a plot on one of their sites. Our waiting list is at least a year.

There are lots of other interesting sites about allotments on our links page.