Survey of Scotland's allotments published
The Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society (SAGS) has recently carried out a search from Shetland to Stranraer to discover the location of all allotment sites in Scotland. This project was supported by a grant from Scottish Natural Heritage.
The search came after figures from local allotment associations suggested demand for allotments far exceeds supply in parts of Scotland. Frequent enquiries to the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society (SAGS) had highlighted three areas of concern:
- people struggled to find a vacant allotment
- there was evidence of lengthy waiting lists if they did exist (for example, of more than 900 in Edinburgh for the 1200 fully occupied plots, and
- there were concerns about allotment sites under threat from development.
This alerted SAGS to the lack of both a central source of information on Scottish allotments and any recent moniotirng of the country’s allotment estate.
The results of the survey have now been published as a full-colour report with detailed information and a map 
of Scotland's allotments, along with examples of sites with wildlife interest or activities involving the wider community, like youth and school groups, and health projects.
The report will help people find their nearest site, and identify gaps in provision. It also highlights sites that may need protection from development. The report also highlights the potential for a more in-depth study of networking and support opportunities so that plotholders, allotment providers and others may learn from each other’s experiences.
A copy of the report is available to download as a pdf file here.
www.sags.org.uk
Tel. 0131 554 2435
Published 21st August 2007