DEMAND for allotments is increasing year by year.

This year the number of people signing up for their own patch of earth has risen by 11 per cent. At the beginning of April the waiting list stood at 235 and already this year there have been 308 new applications for allotments.

All 36 Council-manged sites have waiting lists. “Only Worthinghead Road in Wyke does not,” says Jeanette. “ When plots become available they are assessed and wherever possible large plots are split into smaller more manageable sizes which allow more people to have their own plot.”

A number of sites - including Haworth, Keighley, Ilkley, Burley in Wharfedale, Silsden and Baildon - are under parish council control, and are no longer maintained by Bradford Council.

A new online application system is working well. “This enables people to check where they are on the waiting lists or change/update their contact details at a time that best suits them, rather than waiting for office hours,” says Jeanette Goodinson, allotments officer with Bradford Council.

The Council has resurrected an annual allotments competition, looking for the best site, best plot, best newcomer and tallest sunflower plus additional categories judged from photographs including a children’s mini garden, best container and best scarecrow.

“The competition started again last year, which was great fun and well received by tenants and is being repeated again this year,” says Jeanette. Entry forms for this years’ competition are now available to download from the Council’s website.

Bradford Allotments Forum meetings, in which all sites with active associations and societies are invited to attend meetings to develop ways of working to benefit the Council, the site and tenants, continue to be popular with an increasing attendance.

Says Jeanette: “A series of workshops is being conducted to introduce the idea of societies and associations to sites which do not currently have them, ultimately leading to the tenants having more influence in the management of their sites.”

The success of this initiative is reflected in the number of associations, which has doubled.

“All allotments sites with active associations and societies have been invited to attend these meetings where we are developing ways of mutual collaboration which will benefit the tenants, the site and the Council,” adds Jeanette. “Although still very new, this new way of working in partnership has been very successful so far, and we are all looking forward to seeing how these improvements progress.”

Allotments are still very popular with community groups, ranging from schools - both primary and secondary - various faith groups, to many different health help groups.

For a number of years Bradford Community Environmental Project (BCEP), working in partnership with the Council, have run starter/training days using half plots up on the Scotchman Road. These are being run again this year.

The benefits in tending an allotment are many. Says Jeanette: “There’s fresh, cheap healthy food, the company of like-minded people, fresh air, physical exercise, social interaction, community integration and simply a place to unwind and relax. They are fun places where families can spend time together.” The activity provides an opportunity to link into the national curriculum.

Recent studies have compared gardening to ‘moderate cardiovascular exercise.’ Thirty to 45 minutes a day of weeding, digging, hoeing, raking and planting can burn between 150 and 300 calories.

When practised regularly gardening can increase heart rate and tone up the body. It can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol and help prevent diabetes, heart disease, depression, and osteoporosis. “Even your brain gets a chance to work out when you research new varieties and plan what to grow and where to plant,” says Jeanette.

“There are an increasing number of people who want to know where their food has come from and how it has been grown, especially those who have young families. I also think although there are still lots of people interested in growing their own food just for the simple pleasure of it - the rising costs of food has made it even more of a necessity to be able to supplement the dinner table with something fresh from the plot.

Adds Jeanette: “Ultimately, gardening is a simple but very rewarding pastime - you don't need to be a genius, it is something anyone can do, whatever your age or abilities. It’s not the end of the world if something goes wrong, you just try another way. “

For more information visit bradford.gov.uk/allotments or email allotments@bradford.gov.uk; T: 01274 431000. For BCEP contact Jane on 01274 223 236.