Over 90,000 people are waiting for an allotment - with Cumbria having the longest waiting list.
Residents in Cumbria face the longest wait to secure a council managed allotment site, a survey has revealed.
Garden shed manufacturers, Power Sheds, sent freedom of information requests to all councils in the UK asking for the number of people waiting for each allotment. One allotment, Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames, has a staggering 637 people waiting for a plot.
Over 90,000 people are on a waiting list for one of the 300,000 council owned allotments in the UK.
Brandon Attack of Power Sheds said: “We have seen a trend with more and more urban gardeners wanting to get into growing fashionable foods such as chillies and sweet potatoes.
“With garden space at a premium, I guess this comes at no surprise that people are trying to find some additional space to grow their own fruit and vegetables.”
The most in-demand allotment plots in 2019:
Areas in West London top the allotment waiting lists, with Bushy Park and St Anns & Westfield plots seeing waiting lists of 637 and 560. Unfortunately if you live in this area, the allotment life might not be for you!
| County | Allotment Name | Waiting List |
|---|---|---|
| London | Bushy Park | 637 |
| London | St Anns & Westfield | 560 |
| Hampshire | Milton Piece | 559 |
| London | Manor Road | 481 |
| London | Beatrix Potter | 400 |
| London | Sixth Cross Road | 399 |
| London | Old Palace Lane | 383 |
| London | Heath Gardens | 375 |
| London | Newham - 1 | 322 |
| London | Newham - 2 | 321 |
The highest average waiting times per county for an allotment:
By county, you may struggle if you live in Cumbria to get your desired allotment plot, with allotments, Walney and Roose topping the wait lists, both standing at around 300.
| County | Country | Average Waiting List |
|---|---|---|
| Cumbria | England | 180 |
| County Down | Northern Ireland | 146 |
| South Lanarkshire | Scotland | 113 |
| Dunbartonshire | Scotland | 103 |
| Dorset | England | 90 |
| Durham | England | 84 |
| Lancashire | England | 60 |
| Devon | England | 59 |
| County Antrim | Northern Ireland | 58 |
| London | England | 54 |
The shortest allotment waiting lists per county:
Allotment waiting lists are all about supply and demand. You are in luck if you fancy having your own allotment and live in the following places in the UK:
| County | Country | Average Waiting List |
|---|---|---|
| Argyll and Bute | Scotland | 0 |
| Roxburgh | Scotland | 0 |
| County Tyrone | Northern Ireland | 1 |
| Worcestershire | England | 2 |
| Suffolk | England | 2 |
| Torfaen | Wales | 2 |
| Angus | Scotland | 3 |
| Ceredigion | Wales | 4 |
| Moray | Scotland | 5 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | Scotland | 5 |
About the research:
Data for allotment waiting lists was collected through freedom of information (FOI) requests sent through to all county councils in the United Kingdom. The waiting lists counts are collected from October 2019, providing an indicator of the waiting list you would expect to join if applying for an allotment.
The data breaks down waiting lists from 199 towns in the UK, made up of 71 unique counties. Of 3184 total allotments in the UK, data was successfully collected for 2998 (94%).
Download the dataset below:
About Power Sheds:
Power Sheds was born in February 2019 by entrepreneurs Jack Sutcliffe and Simon Hobson. Rapid growth has seen Power Sheds named in the Top 3 ‘Start-ups to watch’ by The Sunday Times as well as being awarded the ‘number 1 best shed’ from Real Homes.