Demand for allotments in Belfast outweighs availability

Demand for allotments in Belfast is outweighing availability, with almost 1,000 keen gardeners on the waiting list for a plot.

On the most recent count, there were 964 people on the waiting list for the city's 281 plots, according to a report submitted to a Belfast City Council committee.

The longest waiting list is at Annadale Embankment and Tom Haire, who chairs its allotment group, said it had been an "ongoing problem" for a number of years.

Belfast City Council said there was no budget to increase the number of allotments, but it was exploring options "to improve management of the waiting list".

Mr Haire said it was "a very good thing" that the council had prepared a report.

"We would regularly have people calling in to see how they are getting on in the waiting list," he said.

"There are people who once they get a plot, they are reluctant to give them up.

"At the bigger level it is a neglected area for the council, the commitment to allotments in my view needs to be strengthened."

As it stands, the council has seven allotment locations in Belfast.

• Albert Drive, Castlereagh: eight plots - 125 people on the waiting
• Ballysillan in north Belfast: 57 - 65 waiting
• Annadale Embankment: 87 - 353 waiting
• Belmont: 60 - 205 waiting
• Blythefield: 22 - 22 waiting
• Musgrave, Stockmans Lane: 25 - 165 waiting
• Whiterock Road in west Belfast: 22 - 29 waiting

At a meeting last week, a council officer told elected representatives the waiting list was "substantial".

The report, submitted to the council's People and Communities Committee, said this was "evidence of a high demand for allotments".

Gary Hill, who chairs Ballysillan Allotments Group, said there was great demand for the allotments, particularly from mothers with young families.

"The council are doing their best to reduce the list as much as possible," he told BBC News NI. "We have 50 odd families here.

"The council is beginning to realise it is not just old men pottering away, it is actually a family event, with people who are Polish, German, French, Dutch, and they bring their own skills of doing things."

Prospective plot holders in the Belfast City Council area must complete an application form for an allotment, with plots allocated on a first come first serve basis.

The plots are let on a yearly tenancy basis, with tenants renewing each year on an indefinite basis.

They currently cost £50 a year for a full plot and £26 for a half plot.

Belfast City Council has allocated an average of 22 plots per year since 2014.

Currently 40 plots are vacant. The council said they will be allocated to those "on our waiting lists as soon as possible".

The report suggests a range of options to improve the management of the waiting list.

These include confirming that those on the list still require an allotment, highlighting opportunities to access other growing opportunities, for example at community gardens, and checking that plot holders want to retain their tenancy agreement.

Other measures include asking plot holders if they wish to reduce the size of allotment to allow more people to take part, surveying plot holders every two years and considering the eligibility criteria.

The council's city and neighbourhood services department is preparing a bid for a feasibility study looking at the possibility of increasing allotments provision and other community growing opportunities.

It will also consider the existing infrastructure at each site.