I am desperate for my own allotment. Does anyone know which has the shortest waiting list in the Crookes area?

sorry to jump on your thread but if anyone knows about waiting lists for meersbrook area too :thumbsup:

I'd guess that would be Hagg House for the Crookes area - but we have a waiting list in the 40s

There's only 2 sites with vacancies at the moment - in S20 and S9. Full details here http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/out--about/parks-woodlands--countryside/allotments. I don't know which of the other sites have the shortest wating lists though. Give them a ring, they may be able to tell you. Good luck!

Where is the Hagg House site? Is this the other side of Hagg Hill?:huh:

I've been on the list for meersbrook for a year now. So at the moment its pots and trellis work to grow my veg on

officegirl

Hagg House is the one on Hagg Hill, also bordered by Rivelin Valley Road and Bole Hill Road

You could always join me in my proposed community smallholding project at Loxley. Not only growing veg but also raising poultry and pigs for meat. I'm also allowing bees on site, what do you think about that Rob ;-)

It's a bit too far for me to go. I work nearly full time and have three children. There are just not enough ours in the day! Thanks for the offer though.

that should say hours!

Bees? Interesting idea :lol:

I'd guess that would be Hagg House for the Crookes area - but we have a waiting list in the 40s76 as of today!

apparently Meersbrook waiting list is up to 160+ people .. which is unbelieveable when you see how many unworked plots there are up there.

apparently Meersbrook waiting list is up to 160+ people .. which is unbelieveable when you see how many unworked plots there are up there.

well that what i think, i walk the dog past a site in meersbrook parl everyday and if your telling me they are all in use then they are a real mess, loads are that overgrown you cant see anything :mad:

Why are there large plots at Rivelin either side of me, maybe at least 4 that have never been touched, and I dont mean taken and not worked, I mean they have not been in use for years and are workable with a bit of clearing. Its a disgrace and a load of rubbish about certain 'waiting lists'. Someone needs to highlight things like this and get the allotment office to do something about it. Take a look if you are desperate for an allotment, embarass them into giving you one.:thumbsup: Bottom of Hagg Hill, cross the road and second path down on your right.

Meersbrook has loads of vacant sites, there are quite a few that need a lot of will-power and determination, but they are vacant.

Some that I was offered 12 months ago, still sit dormant gathering weeds, rubbish and the general look that nature has won and taken the land back to be hers!

The allotment office is very friendly, if you don't hear anything for a while give them a call! I used to call them to be told that there was still a waiting list and to be patient, but a few days later I would get a list inviting me to view 2 or 3 sites.

So, if you ring up the allotment office can they tell you what number you are on the list?

Don't see any reason why not, but I don't think it is that black and white.

I think vacant lots are split amongst a few on the waiting list, so they are not waiting just for one person to say yes or no, plus what one person would describe as a jungle, someone else would quite happily get stuck in.

But have a chat with the allotment office, it is worth the effort!

:thumbsup:

Cheers, will do next week then...

There is a way to 'jump' allotment waiting lists (private ones anyway) and that is to be willing to take on almost anything.

We got our first allotment on the very day we went over to the allotment site to see about going on a waiting list last year. Ok it hadn't been worked in a very long time (about 35+years to be correct) but we managed to clear part of it and also dig a 25ft x 15ft bed in the first week alone.... I can dig for England hence my name!:D

Last September we were offered an even bigger plot that joins onto our first one and yes you have guessed correctly that hadn't been touch for quite a few years too (15 in that case).

It's not been easy but then what in this life is? both our plots are already filling up nicely with our onions, potatoes, fruit bed etc. in fact we are running out of room!

Lets face it you are going to have to wait years unless you know a guy who knows a guy before you even get a sniff of a plot that needs very little work doing to it because those sort of plots go so quickly.Hel.xxx.

I don't care how much work I need to do on it before I can use it- you ought to have seen our back when we moved in! I just want an allotment:cry:

I'm on the waiting list for Crookes Marsh Lane - does anyone know how long the waiting list is?

I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeed to grow vegetables.

There are two plots free on our site in Thurcroft (Rotherham) just at the side of the M18 they don't get offered because nobody will take them on, I just hate to see plots go to waste.Hel.xxx.

I have just got on the waiting list for the Meersbrook site near Catlane woods. I initially asked to be placed on any within the Heeley, Meersbrook area but they couldn't do that and I could only be on one waiting list. Although they said that this site was the one with the most allotments and therefore shortest wait, they informed me that the person at the top of the list has been waiting since December 2007 so I'm not optimistic about getting one any time soon :-( Annoying because I've helped a lot of friends on this site and there are sooo many seemingly abandoned ones. Ah well, just get the garden sorted and help others until then...

they informed me that the person at the top of the list has been waiting since December 2007 so I'm not optimistic about getting one any time soon :-( Annoying because I've helped a lot of friends on this site and there are sooo many seemingly abandoned ones.

Bogwoppit, send Lowcarbon a pm and see if he can help - I know that he has been doing lots of work to try and get new tennant onto Meersbrook.

Come and drive up Hagg Lane, on the right hand side there is a whole site of abandoned plots. Check it out on Googlemaps and look for one with the least amount of trees. Get down there and claim ownership, get clearing!

Like many I was puzzled at the apparant inconsistency between the number of unworked allotments sites [I have four next to mine at Rivelin Valley Road site] and the the long waiting lists. I had assumed, incorrectly as it turns out, that the cause was inaction on the Council's part in not being vigilent in withdrawing tenancies of unworked sites. So I wrote to the Council under the Freedom of Information Act requesting the number of Notice to Quits served since Jan 2006. The answer from the Allotment Office was surprising;-

"I have looked through our records and find that we serve approximately 350 -400 Notice to Quits per year 25 to 30 are rescined due to the tenant paying the account or working the plot after illness."

If that is the case then this apparantly high level of activity is at odds with what is seen as an under-resourced and overworked service. That said the problem of waiting lists and the numerous unworked sites remain.

The problem stems from a lack of resources and this will not be resolved by pressurising a department that is simply not resourced to deal with the surging popularity of allotments. Resources are allocated [variously] by the Council/politicians/Department heads and not individual allotment officers who are expected to 'do their best' with limited resources. If anyone is sufficiently aggreived by the current problems -and I suspect there are many, then a more productive approach will be to lobby local councillors and ensure they are fully aware of the scale of problem.

I'm on the waiting list for Crookes Marsh Lane - does anyone know how long the waiting list is?

I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeed to grow vegetables.

Don't hold your breath. I'd imagine it's quite a few years for Marsh Lane.

Come and drive up Hagg Lane, on the right hand side there is a whole site of abandoned plots. Check it out on Googlemaps and look for one with the least amount of trees. Get down there and claim ownership, get clearing!

This is no longer classified as an allotment site, taken out of use in the late 1980s. We (Hagg House Allotment Association) have been pushing for them to open up this side of the road but there is little interest in them doing so (we met with the allotment officer and the local councillor whose remit covers allotments).

The problem stems from a lack of resources and this will not be resolved by pressurising a department that is simply not resourced to deal with the surging popularity of allotments. Resources are allocated [variously] by the Council/politicians/Department heads and not individual allotment officers who are expected to 'do their best' with limited resources. If anyone is sufficiently aggreived by the current problems -and I suspect there are many, then a more productive approach will be to lobby local councillors and ensure they are fully aware of the scale of problem.

Interesting to find that info out, especially since it's an issue on every single site - I walk past plenty of unworked plots to get to my own plot. Difficult to disagree with what you say. Does anyone know how we compare to other places for the number of allotment officers?

This is no longer classified as an allotment site, taken out of use in the late 1980s. So who's going to report/evict the squatters? :)

So who's going to report/evict the squatters? :)

I like your thinking :thumbsup:

Henrietta/Rob,

Growing food without paying the rent - an outrageous idea. As Vice-President of the Allotment Fedeartion I could of course never endorse such vigilante action (tut tut). It is clearly much better to play the system and join the lengthening waiting lists whilst the system allows so many plots to return to our native forest state. I hope you feel sufficiently reprimanded and will never coutenance the idea again. :suspect:


So who's going to report/evict the squatters? :)

Does anyone know how we compare to other places for the number of allotment officers?

I asked John Martin this question over a year ago and he claimed that the number of plots per allotment officer were comparable with other cities but I've never checked.

I wrote to the Council under the Freedom of Information Act requesting the number of Notice to Quits served since Jan 2006. The answer from the Allotment Office was surprising;-

"I have looked through our records and find that we serve approximately 350 -400 Notice to Quits per year 25 to 30 are rescined due to the tenant paying the account or working the plot after illness."

If that is the case then this apparantly high level of activity is at odds with what is seen as an under-resourced and overworked service. That said the problem of waiting lists and the numerous unworked sites remain.



This is such a difficult problem, I don't know where to start. We have done two years of our own site surveys on the Meersbrook site and are about to do our third next month. We found that there were many sites unworked but that they were not entirely the same plots in the two surveys. I.e. people were taking over plots but for whatever reason were not touching them. This may be because they had just taken them on or because their circustances changed or because they were overwhelmed etc. It is virtually impossible to draw any meaningful conclusions from these statistics other than that the office does appear to be sending out notices to quit. How many of these NTQs actaully resulted in terminations? - I can't believe it is 90%.

I certainly get the sense on our site that things are changing slowly, that several long-staning unworked plots are being worked, this may be because people are more determined having waited for such a long time to get the plot or are just placing more importance on food growing. Plot splitting and sharing have to be priorities. The policy review meetings that were held recently highlighted the massive task that the allotment service have. I'm sure they anticipate that this boom in food growing will soon come to an end and allotments will once again become semi-forested. I hope I'm wrong.

Henrietta/Rob,

Growing food without paying the rent - an outrageous idea. As Vice-President of the Allotment Fedeartion I could of course never endorse such vigilante action (tut tut). It is clearly much better to play the system and join the lengthening waiting lists whilst the system allows so many plots to return to our native forest state. I hope you feel sufficiently reprimanded and will never coutenance the idea again. :suspect:

I am suitably chastised and would of course never undertake such, nor encourage anyone to do so... Apparently the site is used by other (unknown) groups and the footpaths are quite well used so you might not go unnoticed for too long.

The problem stems from a lack of resources and this will not be resolved by pressurising a department that is simply not resourced to deal with the surging popularity of allotments. Resources are allocated [variously] by the Council/politicians/Department heads and not individual allotment officers who are expected to 'do their best' with limited resources. If anyone is sufficiently aggreived by the current problems -and I suspect there are many, then a more productive approach will be to lobby local councillors and ensure they are fully aware of the scale of problem.
What is the "resource issue"? What exactly is it that the allotment officers need to do to take the enforcement action? Couldn't they enlist some volunteers? If legal action is required why couldn't say the Uni law students be enlisted to help? Sorry to sound dim....

The allotment office could do worse than enlisting the help from local allotment societies. Allotment societies ought to be able to match up people wanting allotments to derelict plots requiring people.

apparently Meersbrook waiting list is up to 160+ people .. which is unbelieveable when you see how many unworked plots there are up there.

Same with Warminster Road. Some plots have TREES on them!

darnall also they are doing an open day i beleive

Im totally gutted :( I currently share a plot on Morley St Gas, and have my name on the waiting list for my own plot there. I contacted the allotment office to see whereabouts I am on the waiting list and was told I am number 7 :D but that the person at number 1 has been waiting since 2006 :wow: I know it's been said before, but I can't believe with the number of unworked plots that it's potentially going to be YEARS before I get one, even though I'm number 7...

This might not move the debate on much but the plot next to ours on the Norton Lees plots was not touched for at least four years but was all paid up, apparently the owner of the plot wanted to keep it on for the wildlife, they were eventually evicted, I understand, and it is now a valuable allotment. There are two are three viable vacant plots there at the mo (very overgrown) and last year the waiting list was 28.

We got a letter yesterday saying we've been allocated an allotment at Hagg Hill. We'd been on the list about a year. Went to have a look at it and it's waist-high in nettles but with a bit of hard work it will be perfectly fine! I know what people mean about it feeling a bit isolated there, ours is at the far end of a row and those either side don't appear to have had any attention recently, but I am hoping people are going to take them on so there'll be someone to talk to! The annual inspection of allotments has just happened, hence why we've had a letter I think. So now might be a good time to pester if you're on a list and haven't heard anything!

Hagg Hill - aka Hagg House site? If so, you'll find plenty of people to talk to on a weekend. Check out our Facebook group at:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2382433712

93 of us on there to talk to! We also have an active Association and have 'afternoon tea' on most Sunday afternoons when you can get to meet fellow plot holders - and you'll probably find someone with a strimmer :)

Thank you! I don't have internet at home at the moment and I can't get on facebook at work, but I will have a look soon. In fact, I might even try talking to people when we get started on the nettle clearance operation! Looking forward to meeting some of you, afternoon tea sounds most civilised.

Afternoon tea (nettle presumably) sounds like a great idea. Will have to investigate the possibility on Meersbrook ... Nice one.

Good article in the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/jun/02/allotments-shortage-waiting-lists

Good article. I hope I won't be waiting 40 years! I may have got fed up of growing vegetables by then!:sad:

Anyone got any news? When does the inspections take place for next year?

I've been told I'm 3rd on the list for one at Warminster road, Norton lees. Apparently though, there are only 5 plots (out of about 16) in use, for health and safety reasons! I think because the others are so overgrown they are afraid of being sued if someone gets hurt clearing them. What nonsense. I'd take one on.

Surely you could sign something that would say you wouldn't take action if you got hurt. Honestly this nanny state culture really gets me mad!

If you want one at rivelin, pick an overgrown one, tell the allotment office you are having that one, what are they going to do? Tell you to join the imaginary waiting list?

But what if you have been on a waiting list for a while? I know it sounds rebellious, but it would really tee me off if I had done things by the letter and had my name down.