A recent article published on the National Allotment Society website, praised Redrow for creating new allotments across the country and said “a round of applause goes to the far-sighted housebuilding companies creating allotments along with new housing developments.”
Rose Sandell, Group Communities Director at Redrow, elaborated on this:
“Our research* shows that proximity to green space is the most sought-after community feature when searching for a new home, a bigger priority even than being close to local transport routes and supermarkets and shops. Green spaces come in all shapes and sizes and allotments provide a host of benefits for the communities they serve.
“They are an increasingly important deliverable alongside our new homes as they encourage users to enjoy the outdoors, get active in the fresh air and spend time in nature, as well as promoting a more nutritious diet through own-grown fruit and vegetables. We are committed to creating more opportunities for people to get closer to nature and enjoy the resulting benefits. Allotments have the advantage of encouraging pollinator species and are an ideal location for beehives and other wildlife friendly areas.
“Over the next two years we will be creating just over six hectares of allotment space, the equivalent of up to 1,000 quarter-sized allotment plots for the use of local people, within or close to our new developments. To help visualise this, that’s around 10 football pitches of new space dedicated to growing fruit and vegetables, providing a haven for people and wildlife.**
“We are finding allotments are increasingly in demand as people become more aware of the benefits of growing their own produce. As a result, the local authorities we work with at the planning stage to deliver new communities are flagging them more frequently than previous as a key feature people would like to see delivered alongside new homes. Our expectation is that they will continue to be a valuable neighbourhood amenity in the years ahead.”
Redrow also encourage customers and the wider general public to grow their own at home and have produced guidance and advise on how to do this (see our step-by-step guide on how to make your own raised-bed planter in less than 20 minutes).
It’s clear that Redrow and the other homebuilders providing allotments have seen the long term benefits to communities of having access to a space to grow your own. We hope that this will continue and allotments will be seen as an important part of any new housing development.
References
* Research of 2,004 UK adults was conducted on behalf of Redrow by Opinium, June 2020.
**Redrow is due to create just over 6.3 hectares of sites for allotments to be delivered in the financial years ending 2022 and 2023 (combined). Allotments come in different sizes depending on location and demand, but based on the full allotment size of 250 square metres this equates to 252 plots; or 504 half plots; or 1,008 quarter plots.
A full plot (250 square metres) is around the size of a doubles tennis court, for reference. Source: National Allotment Society. The comparison to 10 football pitches is based on a football field being 0.714 hectares in size. Reference here.
