An allotment association has written to all current plot-holders requiring them to complete a seasonal attitude survey before their tenancies are renewed, following an internal review that identified what the working group described as “a measurable correlation between empty raised beds and diminished seasonal enthusiasm.”
The letter, sent to several hundred tenants, asks plot-holders to rate their commitment to soil improvement on a five-point scale, describe their relationship with root vegetables in a short written statement, and confirm whether their interest in growing things “remains consistent across the calendar year or tends to taper off around late September.”
The review, which ran for approximately eighteen months and produced a thirty-two-page report, found that the majority of unused plots were held by tenants who had shown strong initial enthusiasm during the application process but had subsequently “failed to sustain an adequate enthusiasm trajectory.” The report recommended a standardised Seasonal Commitment Assessment as a condition of annual renewal.
The survey runs to fourteen questions. In addition to the root vegetable statement, applicants must indicate how many times they have thought about their plot during the winter months, provide an estimate of intended growing hours for the coming year expressed as a range of two figures, and describe a challenging growing experience and what it confirmed about their values.
Plot-holders who score below the threshold will not have their tenancy immediately revoked. Instead, they will be placed on a provisional tier requiring them to provide photographic evidence of “active engagement” each month — defined in the accompanying guidance note as “physical presence, visible intention, or a photograph of tools positioned near the plot.” A photograph of tools positioned near the plot but not on it is permissible in months when conditions are described as “unfavourable,” though the guidance does not specify who determines this.
The association said the scheme would help prioritise the waiting list, which currently numbers several hundred applicants. Prospective tenants who can demonstrate prior emotional investment in growing — including, the guidance suggests, receipts from garden centres or testimony from someone who can confirm a sustained interest in compost — will receive additional weighting during allocation.
A spokesperson said the changes were designed to ensure plots went to people who genuinely wanted them and not simply to people who “thought they did in March.”
The survey closes at the end of the month. Plot-holders who do not return it will be assumed to have scored zero, which the guidance notes is technically a score and will be recorded as such in the renewal register.
