Allotments in Sheffield: Council struggling to keep up with demand for 'best thing in the city'

The waiting list for an allotment soared from 400 to 4,000 during the pandemic and demand has remained high across the whole of the city, with the longest waiting lists in the south west and parts of central and the south. Currently the waiting list is still around 2,000.

The council’s service manages around 3,400 allotment plots across 80 sites which vary hugely in scale and location. It is almost fully funded by rents with an annual budget of around £310,000 – half of which goes on staff and the rest on things like water, access tracks and repairs.

Occupancy is close to a record high for recent years, at 3,265 tenants (96 per cent, with the remaining are under offer).

Officers said: “There is a long and colourful heritage associated with allotments in Sheffield, and we’ve experienced a resurgence in demand in the last 15 years. Some of our allotments include pigeon lofts, a sport valued by dedicated community often going back generations.”

The service has a high satisfaction rating from growers.

Feedback included comments such as “allotments are the best thing about Sheffield now” and “my allotment my saviour”.

But it is tricky for the council to keep up with growing interest as there is generally more land available in areas of lower demand.

One way the council is tackling this is by making new plots much smaller than traditional ones so more people can have an allotment.

Other local authorities, have a mix of self-managed and council-managed allotments like Doncaster.

Officers said there had not been much appetite for self-managed allotments in Sheffield but the council was now exploring this with active allotment societies.

It also wants revamp some sites but does not have the budget for it right now, especially with the high rate of inflation.

Council officers said: “We have some challenging sites, such as Shirecliffe, which would benefit from huge investment (beyond the scope of our budget). The current high rate of inflation is a challenge for our budget.

“Meeting the demand for allotments is an ongoing challenge, which we seek to address through rigorous inspections, splitting plots where possible, and creating new sites. The last site we created was in Beauchief in 2014, with a further potential site in Blackstock Road failing to progress in 2016 due to local opposition.”

The council is also in the process of reviewing its management of allotments so it can keep up with demand and tackle other issues, in particular its policy on fires in allotments.

There is a seasonable ban on burning to reduce complaints about nuisance meaning fires are not allowed on any site between May 1 and September 30, which has been in place since 2018.

Councillors on the community, parks and leisure committee are expected to discuss allotments at their next meeting on Monday.