13 March 2008
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to stop local authorities & churches selling Allotment sites for financial gain/housing development."
Details of Petition:
"we wish to stop local authorities and church land owners selling our valuable Allotment sites in pursuit of quick financial gain all allotments that have been used as such for 10 years or more should stay as such."
Read the petition
Petitions home page
Read the Government's responseAllotments are valuable green spaces and community assets that provide opportunities for people to grow their own produce as part of the long term promotion of sustainability, health, community cohesion and social inclusion.
The Government acknowledges that public interest in allotments has undergone a recent revival in line with current thinking on healthy eating, organic food and exercise.
Over the last year and as a result of increasing parliamentary interest, we have taken forward a number of actions to reinforce our commitment to allotments, revise and promote good practice and engage positively with allotment organisations. This has helped us gain a better understanding of the issues affecting allotments, plot holders and local authorities.
Statutory allotments are protected via Section 8 of the Allotments Act 1925 which requires that local authorities seek the Secretary of State's consent for disposal or appropriation to another use. Consent cannot be given unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that certain criteria are met. Clarified criteria were issued to local authorities and Government Offices in February 2001. The following are the criteria that local authorities are required to demonstrate before consent is granted:
the allotment in question is not necessary;
adequate alternative provision will be made for displaced plot holders;
the waiting list has been taken into account;
that they have actively publicised the availability of sites; and
the implications of disposal for other relevant policies, in particular development plan policies, have been taken into account.
Where allotments are disposed of, section 32 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 requires that any revenue obtained should be ploughed back into allotments and only the surplus may be used for other purposes.
However, allotments sites owned by churches are not afforded the same protection that statutory allotments have under Section 8 of the 1925 Allotment Act. Allotment lands owned by churches are defined as temporary or private allotments. In addition, as allotment sites owned by churches are regarded as privately owned it is up to the landowner to make use of the sale proceeds as they wish
Nevertheless, a greater protection has been given to all allotments through Planning Policy Guidance (PPG note:17, Planning for Open Space, Sport and recreation (2001). PPG note: 17 require local authorities to make provision for all types of open space that may be of public value. It also requires local authorities to undertake robust assessments of local needs for, and audits of, existing open space, sports and recreational facilities and to establish standards for new provision. It is expected that by implementing the guidance in PPG17, local authorities should make adequate provision for allotments.
Existing open space, including allotments, should not be built on unless an assessment had been undertaken by the local planning authority which has clearly shown the open space to be surplus to local requirements. It encourages local authorities to assess needs for the whole range of recreational facilities, and to make good deficiencies.
PPG17 and Planning Policy Statement 3 are clear that new housing development should not be at the expense of losing recreational open space. Also new residential development must have recreational facilities in order to make it attractive for residents and so that it contributes to urban quality.
