[snow white]

When I first enquired there were no allotments in the village.  But the parish council were keen to start one up so started the process of locating suitable ground.  Three years later and we have a brand new site.  Although we lease plots from the parish council, our allotment association run the site of which I am secretary.  We currently have 8 full plots available.  The site toilet is being built as I speak, and the water connected last week.  We spent the winter planting hedgerows, a woodland and an orchard.  It is a lovely site at the moment with a waiting list of two days!   

[Cake Lady]

I waited around 6 months and I apparently jumped the queue as our association has the policy of prioritising village residents above those that aren't. I think I was 3rd on the list at the time, now we have several vacant plots and no waiting list :-(

[Aidy]

how long is a piece of string?

Take our site for instance, Blackpool council has had to make some cut backs, one of those services that was earmarked was allotments, fortunately the council are forward thinking and we setup the Blackpool Federation of Allotment Associations and now 6 sites in Blackpool are self managed.
One of those items we needed to sort was waiting lists, we now manage the list centrally rather than each site has its own list.
So to give you an idea of what is happening here, one chap had to leave the site due to work commitments, he put his name on the list, our site list was two A4 pages long, we have 30 plots on site so he wasnt expecting to get a plot for  a few years, 18 months later and he is back on site and bearing in mind we have only had about 4 or 5 plots become available in that time.
Many people when they contacted just dont want one anymore or they have moved etc. You will find most lists are out of date so you may find it quicker than they say when you first put your name on the list.
A new plot has just become available again on our site, the tenth person down  is coming to view!

[angelavdavis]

I waited two years for my first half plot.  I was on a council list and self-managed allotment list.  The council came up first, with the self-managed plot coming shortly after.  We opted for the self-managed site in the end which was a smaller plot, but larger site overall with more of a community feel about it.

I put my name down after 12 months for another half plot, this time I only waited 12 months as the committee were getting on top of the overgrown plots.  Unfortunately, they only had a quarter plot available, a the other half of this plot had been let out.  I took this over in June last year.  I then got the other half when the original tenant gave it up after a few months of not working it.

Then, two weeks ago, the plot next door to my original plot became available and the committee have agreed I can relinquish the other plot for this one.  So, at the moment, I have three half plots!

Our list is 35 people long - the latest tenant was on the list for 12 months before being allocated.

[surbie100]

A combined list is a good idea, thanks for that.

My borough has 23 allotment sites and about half of them are self-managed. It would make sense to pool waiting lists with the ones closest to us. Our lettings sec updates the list each year when plots are ready to be re-let, so I don't think that it's too out of date.

[pigguns]

40 on the list and five years waiting here in South London    However I sent in a photo of the couch grass after climbing over the fence and they've offered me a year rent-free!

Over 4 years - signed on the dotted line last night and very excited!

Now all I need is a shed!

I got a  6ft x 3ft shed from ebay this week for £5!  Stick in 'newly listed' and 'buy it now', some people just want shot of them- and make friends with someone with a trailer