Allotment land in decline

AG allotmenteer Lesley Upton writes about the falling numbers of allotment spaces despite a surge in demand

- Lesley Upton

ALLOTMENT land has declined by 65% from its peak between the 1940s and 1960s to 2016, according to a study by the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield.

The most deprived urban areas have seen the biggest cuts in food-growing space, with eight times more allotment closures than the wealthiest areas.

Research shows that 47% of the land once used as allotments has now been built on and 25% are other forms of urban green space.

Academics analyzed historic maps of Bristol, Glasgow, Leicester, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield, Southampton and Swansea from the early 1900s to 2016.