Call for allotments with new homes 'impractical'

The National Federation of Builders (NFB) says incorporating allotments in all new-build developments could drive up the cost of homes

A call for all new-build housing developments to come with allotments is "completely impractical", the trade association for builders has said.

Wiltshire farmer Baroness Minette Batters, the former president of the National Farmers Union (NFU), has said every child should have access to an allotment and a lack of them is hampering efforts to achieve bio-diversity targets.

But the National Federation of Builders (NFB) said the idea is "not deliverable" unless "we swap affordable housing for allotments".

It comes as demand for allotments is rising with more than 100 people on the waiting list for a plot at one site in east Bristol, according to the Bristol Allotments Forum.

Baroness Batters is conducting a government review into the future of farming.

She told literature and arts event the Hay Festival this year: "I am absolutely passionate about kids and school children getting closer to food.

"With every development, we can achieve biodiversity in a food-producing landscape, so we should be able to have allotments with every new development.

"Every child should have access to a beautiful green space and an allotment."

Aleana Baird, clerk of Yatton Parish Council, says allotments are an "excellent benefit" to the community

Allotments have been included in plans for new homes across the West, including in Yatton in North Somerset.

"The allotments came forward as part of the development of Chestnut Park," said Aleana Baird, clerk of Yatton Parish Council.

Bloor Homes set aside land for 68 plots in 2021 and offered them to the parish council to run.

"We just think they're an excellent benefit for the wider community as well and we were very willing to take them on," added Ms Baird.

Rico Wojtulewicz, from the National Federation of Builders, told the BBC the idea is "unrealistic" and will drive up the cost of homes.

"You effectively have to lose a number of properties on that development which means that the site won't be viable anymore - people couldn't actually afford to build it," he said.

"And that's the problem with this proposal. It's a great ambition in theory but in practice there's so much you'd actually need to remove from the cost of delivery in order to make it practical, and it's just simply not."

Ruth Hecht says there are huge waiting lists for allotments in Bristol

In Bristol, there are more people on the waiting list for a plot than there are allotments, according to Ruth Hecht who is chair of the Bristol Allotments Forum.

"I think what's realistic is for developers to have spaces where people can grow their own fruit and veg so not necessarily a large allotment site but small spaces," she said.

"It would really help in terms of developers meeting their planning obligations in terms of biodiversity, in terms of people's health, the environment, it's like a quick win for developers."