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General
Allotment History
The word "allotment"
originates in land being allotted to an individual under an enclosure award. The
first recorded enclosure was about 1654-1658, but the period from 1760 to 1818
saw 3,500 Enclosure Acts of Parliament. In the first half of the 19th century
some attempt was made to provide allotments in the Enclosure Acts, but it was
not until the General Enclosure Act of 1845 that a determined effort was
seriously undertaken.
That Act required that the
Commissioners should make provision for the landless poor in the form of
"field gardens" limited to a quarter of an acre.
By 1850 it had become widely
recognised that allotments were parcels of land to be cultivated by a labourer,
in his spare time, and for the provision of food for himself and his dependants.
At this stage allotments were virtually confined to rural areas.
The urban allotment development was
beginning to emerge, as evidenced by the "guinea gardens" brought into
use on the outskirts of Birmingham as early as the second half of the eighteenth
century. These however gradually disappeared as the outward spread of the city
led to them being closed for building purposes.
Between 1850 and 1900 other parcels
of land were developed in Birmingham and received the name of allotments. The
value to health for people in sedentary occupations, living in houses often with
no gardens of their own, was also coming to be recognised in the urban
environment.
The first statutes establishing
allotments were aimed mainly at provision from charitable sources, and it was
not until the Act of 1908, which consolidated all previous legislation, that for
the first time local councils had a statutory duty to provide. This Act was to
become the basis of allotment law.
The pressure for urban allotment
provision increased as a result of the spread of closely packed housing
development almost entirely without gardens, but intensified with the outbreak
of war in 1914. During the period 1914-1918, the number of allotments rose from
some 600,000 to 1.5 million.
At the end of the War, the national
demand for allotments diminished and many thousands of acres, temporarily
requisitioned, were returned to their original use. However, the demand for
allotments from returning ex-servicemen continued unabated particularly due to
the economic conditions and the Land Settlement facilities Act of 1919 was aimed
at helping them. This Act finally deleted reference to "labouring
poor", and made it clear that all members of the community were eligible to
take up allotment gardening.
Two separate
and countervailing pressures were now being exerted. On the one hand, allotment
holders were becoming increasingly worried by their lack of any secure tenancy
agreement, and on the other, the owners of requisitioned land were pressing for
its return. The Government therefore issued the Allotments Act 1922 which
introduced an "allotment garden" limited in size to .25 acre and
protected tenants by laying down periods of notice.
The next
stage was the Allotments Act of 1925, which required local authorities to
recognise the need for allotments in any town planning development, but its main
provision was to establish the "Statutory" allotment by enacting that
any piece of ground purchased by a local authority for allotment purposes could
not be converted to other purposes without Ministerial permission. This was to
become, and has continued to be a corner-stone of current allotment legislation.
A further
significant step was the passing of the Agricultural Land (Utilisation) Act of
1931 which, impelled by the growing economic depression, had some success in
slowing down the rate at which emergency, or wartime, allotment land was being
returned to other uses.
The outbreak
of the Second World War saw the setting up of yet another government drive to
grow more food, and the "Dig for Victory" campaign launched in 1940
and strengthened by wartime defence legislation. This
saw an estimated annual production from allotments at 1,300,000 tons. At the end
of the War the situation was similar to 1919 as food shortages maintained the
pressure for the maximum amount of home production.
The result of
demands for more and more building land saw the re-establishment of the
Allotments Advisory Body which in 1949 recommended a scale of provision of 4
acres per 1,000 head of population. This resulted in the Allotment Act of 1950,
the last allotments act to pass into law.
Allotments
were originally provided for use by the landless poor to enable them to feed
their families. The modern need is to ensure that land is still made available
for the present and future generations to enjoy fresh and healthy produce, and
benefit from the ability to take fresh air and to exercise and enjoy the
environment.
Some notable dates
1760 – 1818 Over 5
million acres of land were enclosed, depriving the landless poor of rights over
common land.
1782 Act Passed enabling guardians of the poor to enclose up to 10 acres
of waste land for the poor house.
1790 Private Members bill to give small allotments to the poor, failed.
1796 General Enclosure Bill, which provided for land for the poor failed.
1800 Attempts to introduce allotment legislation failed.
1806 Great Somerford (Wiltshire) Enclosure Act was the first to set aside
land as allotment for the labouring poor.
1819 Act empowering parish wardens to let up to 20 acres of parish land
to individuals. This was increased to 50 acres in 1831.
1833 42% of all parishes in England and Wales had allotment schemes.
1845 General Enclosure Act made a serious attempt to provide 'poor's'
allotments.
1873 Act improving the management of allotments under Enclosure awards.
1876 Act compelling Enclosure Commissioners to set aside land for the
poor.
1882 Allotments Extension Act required land held for the poor to be let
as allotments.
1883 7 counties provided allotments in almost every parish.
1886 An Allotments Bill was held in abeyance pending a by-election in
Spalding (Lincs) and in 1887 an ‘allotments’ candidate was returned defeating a
strong conservative candidate.
Immediately the Bill was put through its remaining stages and became law.
1887 Act compelling local authorities to provide allotments where a
demand was known to exist. However such obligatory provision only came into
force where allotments could not be obtained at a reasonable rent by private
treaty.
1890 Default powers to provide given to county councils.
1907 Act imposing responsibility upon borough, urban districts and parish
councils.
1908 Act to consolidate all existing legislation.
1913 600,000 allotment plots were recorded in England and Wales.
1918 1.5 million allotment plots available (between 600sq yards and 1
acre)
1919 7000 new applicants for allotments each week with a large number of
returning ex-servicemen.
Land Settlement Facilities Act intended to help with provision. Reference to
‘labouring population’ deleted from the acts.
1922 Pressure from owners for return of requisitioned land.
Act gave more security and greater compensation to tenants. Also introduced
concept of an 'allotment garden'.
Regulations permitting requisition of land came to an end.
1925 Allotments Act requiring consideration of the need for allotments in
Town Planning and also the need for Ministerial consent to the disposal of
allotment land.
1929 Provision of allotment had fallen below one million largely due to
the loss of requisitioned land.
1930 Formation of the National Allotments Society (now The National
Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners) as the only authoritative national
allotment organisation.
1931 Agricultural Land (Utilisation Act) enacted to help relieve poverty
and providing an activity for the unemployed.
This Act was temporary in character to be repealed as soon as the position
improved. Some sections were finally repealed in 1993.
The Act permitted the seizure of land and gave the Ministry of Agriculture
authority to provide allotments itself.
1939 Allotment provision approx. 570,000 plots in England and Wales.
Defence regulations permitted the Ministry of Agriculture to enter upon
unoccupied land for the purpose of providing allotments.
1940 ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign launched with eager help from local
authorities and the National Allotments Society.
1941 Total annual production on allotments estimated at 1,300,000 tons
and the total produced during the war by newcomers to the allotment movement
must have exceeded 3 million tons.
1942 By the end of the year over 1,400,000 allotments were provided.
Regulations introduced making it an offence to trespass on an allotment.
1944 Ministry of Agriculture calculated that the total annual production
on allotments and private gardens contributed 10% of all food production in the
country.
1947 The Chancellor of the Exchequer stressed the importance of allotment
cultivation as a contribution towards the country's economic difficulties.
Despite the 'Dig for Plenty' campaign allotment provision decreased
1949 The Allotments Advisory Committee recommended 4 acres of allotments
be provided per 1000 population.
1950 Allotments Act extended the length of notice to quit and required
local authorities to provide allotment gardens only. The Act also removed
contractual restrictions on keeping hens and rabbits on an allotment.
1969 Departmental Committee of Enquiry report into allotment published.
The report made many recommendations but was largely ignored by Government.
1998 Environmental Committee enquiry into the Future of Allotments. This
supported the need for the retention of allotments, which form a component part
of healthy neighbourhoods.
The Government introduced a requirement for local authorities to demonstrate the
steps they have taken to promote allotments before being granted permission to
dispose.
The Committee also recommended a Best Practice Guide be drawn up which has now
been produced.
2001 Planning Policy Guidelines (PPG17) Sport and Recreation being
revised to include allotment provision
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