Sir Sadiq Khan has been urged to work with councils to create more allotments across London, as waiting lists to access them remain staggeringly high.
In a new report published on Wednesday, the London Assembly‘s environment committee has asked the mayor to conduct a review of food-growing sites across the capital, arguing that having more of them will provide people “with a connection to nature and a source of healthy food”.
It comes as data shared with the committee reveals a marked disparity between the number of allotments in inner and outer London. While Ealing has 60 separate allotments for example, Kensington and Chelsea has none.
Even in boroughs where allotments do exist however, it can take several years on a waiting list before getting access to one. Research by Greenpeace in 2023 found that in total, 30,500 Londoners were on waiting lists for allotments.
Camden Council found in 2022 that the average wait for one in the borough was 12 years, though an FOI request by MyJobQuote the previous year estimated it was considerably longer, at 17 years and six months - meaning it had the longest average wait in the country.
The ‘allotment gap’ between inner and outer London is partly explained by the fact that the statutory requirement for councils to provide allotments was ended in 1963 for inner London boroughs.
Despite its complete lack of allotments, Kensington and Chelsea has developed a community kitchen garden scheme since 2009, which now has over 50 sites and gives over 700 residents the opportunity to grow food, according to the committee’s report.
“In a city where more than half of households now live in flats – often with limited access to personal gardens - community food growing sites offer Londoners access to land to grow food,” said the committee’s chairman, Zack Polanski.
“Food growing has a number of clear benefits – it teaches us how to be more sustainable, builds a sense of community and reduces the impact on the environment, with less need for outsourcing food into London.”
Mr Polanski, who is also deputy leader of the Green Party, added: “Through our investigation we heard from a number of community food growing groups who highlighted to us the barriers that prevent more Londoners growing food. Access to land was a key issue, which is why we are calling on the mayor to carry out a review of available land for potential further food growing sites.
“We are also calling on the mayor to commit ongoing funding to London-wide food growing networks to help improve the access for Londoners to grow their own food.
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“London is a huge city, with great resources - it would be inspiring for Londoners to be supported properly to grow more food.”
Approached for comment on the committee’s report, a spokeswoman for Sir Sadiq said: “Current policy on food-growing will also be considered as part of the ongoing London Plan review, ahead of publication of the next draft plan in 2026.
“The mayor is also committed to creating a new fund which will enable councils and communities to bid for funding to develop green spaces, including those where they can grow food. The mayor will review this report and respond fully in due course.”