Under the acts a local government is required to maintain an "adequate provision" of land, usually a large allotment field which can then be subdivided into allotment gardens for individual residents at a low rent. The rent is set at what a person "may reasonably be expected to pay" (1950), in 1997 the average rent for a statutary 10 square [[rod (unit)|rod]]s (250 square metres or one-sixteenth of an acre) plot was £22 a year. Each plot cannot exceed 40 square rods (1012 m²) and must be used for the production of [[fruit]] or [[vegetable]]s for consumption by the plotholder and their family (1922), or of flowers for use by the plotholder and their family. The exact size and quality of the plots is not defined. The council has a duty to provide sufficient allotments to meet demand. The total income from allotments was £2.61 million and total expenditure was £8.44 million in 1997. In 2000 [[metrication]] legislation made it illegal to use square rods as a unit of pricing, which must now be priced in square metres. | Under the acts a local government is required to maintain an "adequate provision" of land, usually a large allotment field which can then be subdivided into allotment gardens for individual residents at a low rent. The rent is set at what a person "may reasonably be expected to pay" (1950), in 1997 the average rent for a statutary 10 square [[rod (unit)|rod]]s (250 square metres or one-sixteenth of an acre) plot was £22 a year. Each plot cannot exceed 40 square rods (1012 m²) and must be used for the production of [[fruit]] or [[vegetable]]s for consumption by the plotholder and their family (1922), or of flowers for use by the plotholder and their family. The exact size and quality of the plots is not defined. The council has a duty to provide sufficient allotments to meet demand. The total income from allotments was £2.61 million and total expenditure was £8.44 million in 1997. In 2000 [[metrication]] legislation made it illegal to use square rods as a unit of pricing, which must now be priced in square metres. |