Welcome to the Resources page
What you can find on the Resources page
I still find it fascinating that such a simple and everyday practice as allotment gardening can be “…imbibed with local government’s highly subjective expectations along with incumbent monitoring and valuations by public officials and allotment committees (who perform some functions of public officials)…in this light, allotment gardeners can be imagined as willing participants in a practice for which they have affective sentiment, but which is imbibed with the regulatory intrusion and authority of the State.” This quote is from my PhD and I’ve spent many years both before and after pondering the relationship between the State and allotment gardeners.
Allotments are a niche area within both public policy and academia, as well as holding a rich source of complex everyday local gardening practices which bring meaning to peoples’ lives. For such a specialist area, as you would expect, there are different types of Resources covering a vast time span.
For example, there are newer ‘open data’ such as digital mapping, academic critques from many disciplines, policy documents from The State at central and local levels, as well as NGO responses and collaborations and ideas.
In particular, this Resources page focusses on bringing together the ‘technical instruments’ governing allotments, spanning across the past 50 years. These resources highlight The State’s policies on how its citizens may (and may not) do something as simple as growing food for their consumption at home. This governance and rationalisation, renders allotments and plotholders into “subject’s” governed from centralised and local vantage points. As part of this focus, the critical responses, ideas and senses of hope from NGO are included here on this Resources page too – many of which served (in the latter part of the 2000s in particular) to influence central government policy into a more appreciative State understanding of allotments and their multiple benefits.
We can always question if the State should be telling its citizens what (and how and where) to grow what they need to eat and survive. From the furthest depths of histories right through to today, controlling citizens’ ability to determine their own nutrition (and survival) can affect not only a person’s own destiny but also that of their community – taken from this perspective, the policy actions of the contemporary State on allotments fits into processes of power practiced across eons.
How to use the Resources page
There are lots of overlapping topics in the world of allotments. The resources on this page are ordered in date order of publication (descending) and within the following groups:
If you are new to reading-up on allotments and you are particularly interested in public policy, it can be helpful to know that the same laws (“Allotments Acts”) apply to both England and Wales, but that there are entirely separate acts and regulations for Scotland.
Furthermore, there are some highly specific topics focussed on by the different NGOs operating in the different countries of the UK. For example, the Scottish Allotments & Gardens Society (SAGS) lobbied and then worked with Scottish Government to change the Allotments Acts there and, thus, their publications are in-depth and often funded by Scottish Government, with not only uniquely Scottish allotment themes but also a more political stance than that of other allotments NGOs operating in the UK.
Additionally, although the same Allotments Acts apply to both England and Wales, there are some Wales-specific public policy publications. For example, the Local Government Association’s (LGA) good practice guide (Growing in the Community, 2nd Edition) was produced in 2008 for both England and Wales and was the only publication on this topic for many years; this publication was endorsed by DCLG. However, in 2016 the Welsh Government produced their own guide specifically for Wales. It should be noted that the inclusion of other forms of growing space (e.g. UK community gardens and ‘community growing spaces’) in the guide for Wales has meant this guidance is not as detailed on allotments as the LGA version, so I would recommend reading both alongside one another to get a general feel for the guidance produced for local government, before settling on the one most relevant to you.
Finally, The Allotments Regeneration Initiative ‘factsheet series’ (originally produced for all of the UK) has now been copied and rebranded as ‘Allotment Regeneration Initiative’ and translated into Cymraeg (Welsh Language) by Social Farms & Gardens. In the interests of promoting allotments information in Cymraeg I have included these here too.
If you have any comments about these publications I would love to hear from you, please get in touch using the Contact Form.
Statutory Organisations
Including Central Government (Westminster) and the devolved nations (Scottish Parliament, Holyrood; Senned Cymru, Cardiff), local government, and other statutory organisations such as Natural England.
“Guidance for traditional allotments and community-led gardening projects” Welsh Government (2016)
“Allotment disposal guidance: Safeguards and alternatives” Department of Communities and Local Government (2014)
“Sheds and other structures Q&A” Communities and Local Government / The National Allotment Society (2011)
“Allotments: A Plotholder’s Guide” (2nd Edition). Department of Communities and Local Government (2007)
“Wildlife on Allotments” Natural England (2007),
Produced by the statutory organisation for wildlife and nature in England, this was the first time a statutory agency had commented on the benefits of allotments for biodiversity.
“A lot to lose: London’s disappearing allotments” London Assembly (2006)
“Survey of Allotments, Community Gardens and City Farms” [England only] Department of Communities and Local Government (2006)
England only. Note that local councils were not obliged to complete this survey, it was optional only, with the outcome that many councils did not participate. DCLG concluded in the report that results were “too low to provide robust information”. The survey has not been repeated since.
![Cover image for "Survey of Allotments, Community Gardens and City Farms" [England only] Department of Communities and Local Government (2006).](https://deborahburn.me.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/DCLG_Survey_2006-720x1024.png)
“Allotments – A Plotholders Guide” (1st Edition) Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (2001)
“House of Commons, Select Committee Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs – Fifth Report: The Future for Allotments” (1998)
This publication is only available online as webpages, the download below is the cover page only, a Google search will quickly bring up the webpages for you.
Departmental Committee of Inquiry into Allotments (The Thorpe Committee) (1971)
A parliamentary Command Paper, drafted by Professor Harry Thorpe for central government, colloquially known in the allotments movement as ‘The Thorpe Report’. The document is not available online, however, the National Archive record entry is shown below. The report can be ordered on paper via Parliamentary Archives. Many university libraries also hold printed copies of Command Papers in their archive too.
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
Including membership organisations for local government, and national organisations involved in allotments. These Resources are ordered together by the organisation which produced them.
Allotments Regeneration Initiative
This was a broad-based partnership created in 2002 and initiated/funded by Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. Most national organisations connected with allotments were involved at one point or another, along with academics, key local councils, and local government officers.
Coming Soon: Where a later Welsh Language version is available, this is immediately after the English Language version.
“Allotments for All: Improving access for people with disabilities and mental health needs” Allotments Regeneration Initiative (2nd Edition, 2010)
“Affordable toilets for allotments” Allotments Regeneration Initiative (2nd Edition, 2010)
The compost toilet industry has developed its technology enormously since this publication, check out WooWoo Waterless Toilets for an overview of the ‘desiccating’ models now available.
“Gardeners in Charge: A guide to devolved management for allotment associations” Allotments Regeneration Initiative (2nd Edition, 2011)
“Safe Sites: Tackling vandalism and other offences on allotment sites” Allotments Regeneration Initiative(2nd Edition, 2010)
PACK: “A Guide to Fund for Allotments Associations” Allotments Regeneration Initiative (2nd Edition, 2010)
This is a PACK IN SIX PARTS. Each part is a separate download below. The list of funders/resources is not included here as it is out of date.
PACK “Health and Safety on Allotments: A Management Guide” Allotments Regeneration Initiative (2nd Edition, 2010)
This is a PACK IN SEVEN PARTS. Each part in the pack is a separate download below.
“Managing Non-Cultivation: A guide to applying cultivation standards for allotment managers” Allotments Regeneration Initiative (2nd Edition, 2010)
“Managing Waiting Lists” A guide to minimising the amount of time people wait for an allotment” Allotments Regeneration Initiative (2011)
“Project Allotment: A guide for groups and agencies working on allotments” Allotments Regeneration Initiative (2010)
Be sure to also download the Supplementary Sheet which accompanies this factsheet and clarifies the Law. This is a separate download below.
“Growing in the Community: A Good Practice Guide for the Management of Allotments” (2nd Edition) Local Government Association. Also see the ‘supplement’ to this publication which can be found immediately below this entry.
“A Place to Grow: A Supplementary Document to Growing in the Community” Local Government Association (2010)“
“Can you dig it? Meeting community demand for allotments” New Local Government Network (2009)
“Allotments in Scotland: Guidance Notes for Scottish Councils” Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) (2006)