Documentary: Allotment Research

I wanted to find out a little more about the history of allotments in the UK, so I did some intense googling and this is what I found.

THE HISTORY OF ALLOTMENTS IN THE UK

During my research I found some interesting statistics on the number of allotments in the UK over the last 140 years.

1873- 224,208 plots

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1918- 1,500,000 plots

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1920s + 30s- decline (not sure of the exact number)

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WW2- Up to 1,400,000 plots

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1948- 1,117,000 plots

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1960s- declined by 600,000 plots

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1969- Thorpe Inquiry finds decline is due to: Reduction in land available; increased prosperity; growth of other leisure activities.

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1970- 530,000 plots

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1977- 497,000 plots

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1997- 265,000 plots

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2006- London Assembly finds decline is due to high building density, meaning less land is available.

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2009- 300,000 plots

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Recent survey- 330,000 plots

In recent years it seems the number of allotments in the UK has risen, when compared to the number of plots in 1997. I also found that in the UK there is a high demand for plots, with over 100,000 people on waiting lists each year, however, there just isn't enough land in the UK to accommodate all the extra plots needed.

I find these statistics very intriguing, and would like to use them as the base for our documentary narrative.

During my research I also found out a lot about the "Dig For Victory" campaign used by the UK Government in WW2. They encouraged people to grow their own fruit and vegetables because rations were low. Many open spaces were transformed into allotments, even the lawns outside the Tower of London. This explains the high number of allotments in the UK during WW2.

Dig For Victory Poster

I would also like to incorporate the "Dig For Victory" campaign into the narrative of the documentary.

Sources: 

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/feb/19/national-trust-allotments

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/mar/22/food.gardens

http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item107597.html

Image: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/digforvictory_tcm4-570197.jpg