Do we need to allot more allotments?
Plus some hashtag vandalism, a review of The Tiger Moth, and the last few days to book for our PCC debate
There are just over 1,000 allotments in Medway and over 2,000 people who want a plot but are stuck waiting years for one to become available. Is it time we changed the system to make growing for yourself more accessible? Further down, we have news of some cheeky political vandalism in Rochester, a review of The Tiger Moth in Chatham, and a reminder about our upcoming Police and Crime Commissioner election debate.
Editor’s note: I’ve been down with a pretty rotten cold this week, which is why we failed to put out a midweek edition. Sorry about that. We’ve got a full slate of content lined up for next week though, with no less than three additional pieces for our paid supporters. Our paid supporters ensure we can keep these Tuesday and Friday editions free for everyone, so please consider joining the hundreds of readers who ensure we can make a new form of local journalism for Medway sustainable.
Do we need to allot more allotments?
Allotments are an often overlooked part of local services. Since being introduced early in the 20th century, local councils have been obliged to provide allotment sites for residents to grow fruits, vegetables, and plants.
Across the country, how allotments work, and the costs involved can vary dramatically. Costs can vary anything from a peppercorn rent to £100 for a plot, and waiting lists vary significantly between different regions. While most councils are left to their own devices to manage allotments, Scotland relatively recently introduced legislation compelling local councils to provide more allotments if sufficient demand exists.
Beyond this, the system has a certain core purity. Anyone within a local council area can apply for an allotment at any site in the borough and should get their turn once they make their way to the top of the list. As we’ll see later, it won’t always be that straightforward, but the intent is simple and effective when it works.
Under the Scottish legislation mentioned above, a council must provide more allotment plots if the number of people on the waiting list is more than half of the number of plots available. While this rule doesn’t apply in England, what are the wait times like in Medway? Would our area benefit from this sort of system, or is there not enough demand in Medway to justify it?
To start figuring this out, we need to know how many allotment plots exist in Medway, which is surprisingly difficult to pin down precisely. Medway Council’s own figure is ‘over 1,000’.
If we take 1,000 as the figure in the interests of rounding, it would mean Medway Council would be compelled to provide more allotments in Medway if there were more than 500 people on the waiting list for a plot.
According to data seen by Local Authority, Medway currently has a little over 2,000 people waiting for a plot, meaning that for every person with a plot, two more want one. So the demand is certainly there. It just isn’t being met.
Of course, while there have always been lengthy waiting lists for allotments, demand escalated during the pandemic years. People trapped in their homes, often without outside space, suddenly realised having a little patch of land of their own might be nice. In 2020 alone, 997 Medway residents added themselves to the waiting list for a lot. While this has dropped in the years since, there are still 400-500 people applying for a plot every year, double the pre-pandemic figure.
Medway Council says the average wait time for an allotment in Medway is around two and a half years, which does seem to be better than in some places, but it’s still a long time. The problem is exacerbated by Medway having fewer plots than other local councils. The recommended ratio for plots is 15 for every 1,000 households. In Medway, that figure is 9. Some London boroughs have double that number.
With Medway only having a small number of sites, it is difficult for the service to pay for itself. Medway Council spends around £70,000 per year running the allotment service (including maintenance), but the income from renting the plots is only £48,000. Stuart Bourne, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate in Gillingham and Rainham and campaigner for all things green, says this represents a lost opportunity for the council. He notes that most of the cost of running the service is on managing the waiting list rather than maintaining the plots, so scaling up the number wouldn’t cost much more and would offer more potential revenue for the council. He argues that if Medway doubled its allotment count to 2,000, it would allow the service to turn a profit and significantly reduce the waiting list.
The low cost of running the service isn’t entirely without its problems, though. The allotment sites are managed on a day to day basis by volunteer wardens who keep an eye on how things are running, chase down the owners of abandoned plots, and work through the list to find new tenants when plots become available. Inevitably, this leads to variable provision across 28 different sites.
One person we spoke to who added themselves to the waiting list for a site in Rochester in 2020 described their disbelief that their place in the queue barely moved in years, suggesting that processing isn’t always followed when allocating plots.
“Since that time I have given up even thinking about whether I will or won't ever be allocated an allotment. To me the whole allocation system is a shambles and is run by a group of individuals who don't care if the waiting list procedure is run properly or not.”
On the other hand, other allotment holders we spoke to said that wardens are doing their best with the limited resources they have and often face challenges like tracking down renters whose plots seem abandoned, making it more difficult to turn them around for new users.
Another common issue seems to be the size of the plots. The standard size for an allotment is 250sqm, or roughly the size of a doubles tennis court. Given sites are often overgrown with weeds or haven’t been well maintained by previous owners, getting an allotment plot into a usable condition can often be a daunting task in itself. As a result, some wardens are breaking the plots within their sites in half to make them more manageable and clear twice as many people from the waiting list. This has been done in other parts of the country and appears to be an effective response to the needs of today.
Surely if people are seeking allotment plots, it’s in everybody’s interest for them to be facilitated. After all, it’s hard to overstate the benefits of allotments. They provide a simple, low-cost way to take up growing fruit and veg as well as gardening, it’s a healthy activity, it gets people into nature, there’s a sense of community, and there are physical and mental well-being benefits.
Stuart Bourne thinks there is significant potential in allotments, but supply simply isn’t keeping up with the need for new plots.
“There aren’t enough sites available across Medway to cope with demand, which has only increased as people want to do their part to help reduce food miles. This isn’t surprising considering our towns have grown so much but no new sites have been created.”
Indeed, despite all the new developments built in Medway over recent years, none have contained any kind of new allotment provision. As such, it was notable that a planning application in Cliffe for a new residential development was proposed that included some within the plans.
It is here that Stuart thinks there is an opportunity for the council to create new allotments through developer contributions:
“Make it requirement that all future housing developments consider allotment provision during the planning stage, with the use of section 106 funds to build extra sites. We are good at getting new parks from 106 funds but allotments are just as important when you consider how small gardens are in new developments.”
This is a small, tangible step that Medway Council could take to boost their allotment provision in an area that clearly demands it. There are more things that could be done, too, none of which would be too difficult, like creating a formal allotment strategy, as many other councils have done, or using the ongoing Local Plan process to identify potential new allotment sites. There are more radical options, too. Hull City Council recently granted residents the ‘right to grow’ on unused council land, offering a lower cost way to free up additional provision.
One thing is clear though: allotments offer a clear social good, and it would be prudent for any local council to look at how to get the best out of the system.
As one allotment holder in Rochester put it, “It’s great to be out in the fresh air, and we can put the world to rights while drinking our tea”, while also highlighting that "The other people there are lovely, and we all help each other”. What more could you ask for?
In brief
🏠 Gillingham has been rated the second least affordable town for renters in the UK. A combination of low wages and high rents means the average renter in Gillingham spends nearly 40% of their wage on their home.
🍛 The former Prince of Wales pub in Strood is undergoing an extensive refit to convert it into an Indian restaurant. The new frontage was revealed this week, with the location set to open in the coming weeks.
🏗️ Proposals have been submitted for a new mixed-use development on Luton High Street. The plans would see three commercial units and existing flats replaced by three new commercial units, three offices, and 24 flats.
If you enjoy Local Authority, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers. You can even get some sweet, sweet rewards for sending new readers our way. Details here.
Hashtag vandalism
Okay, so vandalism isn’t big or clever (except when it is), so we’re obviously not condoning this, but someone has clearly had some fun up at Jackson’s Field in Rochester.
Local resident Stephen McCormack took to social media after spotting that someone emblazoned the words ‘Tories Out! #GTTO’ across the bowling green. Including a hashtag is quite the extra touch to the whole thing.
Rochester has an extensive history of politically charged graffiti and street art. While this isn’t the most elegant example, it does demonstrate the strength of feeling that exists within some people at least.
Less than a week until our next debate
With people in Medway coming down with severe cases of election fever as the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner election approaches, there are just a few days until our debate takes place.
Residents will have the opportunity to put questions to all three candidates standing for the role: Matthew Scott for the Conservatives, Lenny Rolles for Labour, and Graham Colley for the Liberal Democrats.
Tickets are free, but booking is essential. So please hit the big orange button below to book your place and submit a question for the panel.
Out to lunch: The Tiger Moth in Chatham
In which Steven Keevil assesses the lunch options available in our towns. This week, he’s been down to The Tiger Moth in Chatham…
The Tiger Moth is part of the Greene King chain and is a fairly large pub on the edge of Chatham, near the Horsted retail park and the Innovationless park. The pub was fairly busy and promised to get busier as many tables were reserved. Eventually, a table was found, and once the relevant app was downloaded, we were ready to order. There are a lot of ‘fruit’ machines in the pub, and whilst we sat in front of one, I thought the likelihood of it being used was minimal. I was right that it wasn’t used, but I also naively thought that the operating company wouldn’t choose lunchtime to wheel another machine in and exchange parts on them either.
It was Buy One Get One Free burger day, so we ordered those, which made the meal appreciatively inexpensive. The drinks didn’t come in pints but large glasses, and, as is becoming a running theme in these pieces, did not fill the glass. Anyone who is willing to deal with this issue may well get my vote. We ordered waffle fries with the burgers and some coleslaw and then waited for the food to arrive. And waited. And waited.
When the food finally arrived, the waffle fries were delightful, crispy, and tasty. The coleslaw was clearly bought in but still made a fine accompaniment. The burgers were flame-grilled and carried the flavour well. The burger bun was also flame-grilled and did not carry the flavour well.
Overall, The Tiger Moth is exactly what you would expect from a Greene King pub. If you find yourself on the edge of Medway looking for something to eat, then for the price, it’s alright.
Events this week
🛍️ The Rochester City Vintage & Artisan Market is tomorrow (Sat 13 Apr) in Rochester High Streets. Stallholders in red gazebos will be dotted along the High Street selling all kinds of unique gifts and items from 10am. Free.
🎞️ Cineworld in Strood is screening a series of action films over the coming weeks, with Demolition Man showing this Monday (15 Apr). The 90s sci-fi film with Sylvester Stallone and Sandra Bullock has aged far better than it has any right to. Tickets £5.
🎭 The Hollow Crown is the latest production from the Medway Little Theatre, running between 17-20 April. The play presents in dramatic form the British monarchy, from William the Conqueror to Queen Victoria, through speeches, documents, gossip and music. Tickets £12.
🗣️ Medway Council’s April full meeting is on Thursday (18 Apr). On the agenda this time around are classic issues like potholes, the Local Plan, and constitutional matters regarding the planning committee. Free.
More Authority
Our paid supporters receive extra editions of Local Authority every week, including our in-depth interviews with local figures. This Sunday, we’ll be publishing not one but two interviews as we speak to both of the opposition candidates to become Kent Police and Crime Commissioner: Lenny Rolles of Labour and Graham Colley of the Liberal Democrats.
To receive those as they are published, please consider becoming a paid supporter. In the meantime, we have also unlocked our interview with current Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott from last year so it’s available to all readers for free:
"I can understand why people don't want party politics and policing to mix"
Steven sat down with Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Scott at Medway Police Station. Matthew was elected to the role in 2016 and is currently serving his second term. They discussed the balance of the role with party politics, the effects of austerity and council precepts on police budgets, and the level of crime in Medway.
Footnotes
Music that soundtracked the creation of this edition: Sounds From The Gulf Stream by Marine Research, Going to Hell by Lande Hekt, and Johnny Foreigner vs Everything by Johnny Foreigner.
Well done for the piece on allotments. One of our real gems with diverse communities, great people growing food with taste you can rarely buy!
Thanks for highlighting next week's Full Council and the constitutional change affecting Planning. Let's hope it gets some debate this time and democratic debate is preserved like it was 2 years ago; the change was rejected then! Or is the face of the new administration's transparency?
Hope you feel better soon Ed.