Update confirms more allotment sites being created across Wirral

The number of allotment plots in Wirral is edging closer to 2,000 with more than 220 new plots having been created since 2020 and nearly 90 more close to completion.

The update on allotment provision in the borough is being provided to the next meeting of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee for Wirral Council as part of a wider report on progress on Wirral’s Allotment Strategy, which was approved by the same committee in 2022.

Wirral Council manages 40 allotment sites across the borough with a current total of 1,923 individual plots. This represents an increase of 223 plots since the strategy was adopted.

Of the 1,923 allotment plots, 1,796 plots were let (93%), and 78 plots were vacant (4%) with 49 plots identified as unlettable in their current condition (3%).

Demand for allotment plots has been increasing in recent years driven by several factors, including the cost-of-living crisis, which has encouraged many people to grow their own food.

Others cite a growing commitment to sustainability and local food production as a reason for wanting an allotment as well as the recognised mental and physical health benefits associated with gardening. 

Although falling, the waiting list for allotments in Wirral remains high at 1,600 people. Some sites have a waiting time of less one year, while two sites have waiting lists of 11 years. The average waiting time for an allotment plot is four years.

The creation of new plots and a commitment to establish more is contributing to the reduction in the waiting list. Additional plots have been created through an extension to the Mosslands site, while at Dawson Road in Bebington work has started on bringing more 29 new plots to members of the public by this summer.

A bid of £110,000 of capital funding has been secured to fund the extension of the Love Lane site in Wallasey. Once planning permission has been secured work can begin on creating 28 more plots there.

Further improvements include the installation of 30 additional raised beds at Bebington Road allotments, specifically designed to meet the needs of wheelchair users. Raised beds at Bebington Road provided previously have proved highly successful, with all plots currently tenanted.

Other developments being reported to members as part of the allotment update include a new IT system now being used to manage allotments better, a bonfire policy being implemented to reduce smoke emissions and promote environmentally friendly practices, pollinator friendly corridors being created in allotment areas with planting for bees and butterflies and new water conservation efforts being made, including rainwater harvesting and irrigation watering methods.