Changes

In the [[United Kingdom]], an '''allotment'''  is a small area of land, let out at a nominal yearly [[renting|rent]] by [[local government]] or independent allotment associations, for individuals to grow their own food.  This could be considered as an example of a [[community garden]] system for [[urban area|urban]] and to some extent [[rural]] folk.

In the [[United Kingdom]], an '''allotment'''  is a small area of land, let out at a nominal yearly [[renting|rent]] by [[local government]] or independent allotment associations, for individuals to grow their own food.  This could be considered as an example of a [[community garden]] system for [[urban area|urban]] and to some extent [[rural]] folk.

The allotment system began in the [[18th century]]: for example, a 1732 engraving of [[Birmingham, England]] shows the town encircled by allotments, some of which still exist to this day.  Following the [[Inclosure Act]]s and the Commons Act of 1876 the land available for personal cultivation by the poor was greatly diminished. To fulfil the need for land allotment legislation was included. The law was first fully codified in the Small Holdings and Allotment Act of 1908, it was modified by the Allotments Act of 1922 and subsequent Allotments Acts up until 1950.

The allotment system began in the [[18th century]]: for example, a 1732 engraving of [[Birmingham, England]] shows the town encircled by allotments, some of which still exist to this day.  Following the [[Enclosure Act]]s and the Commons Act of 1876 the land available for personal cultivation by the poor was greatly diminished. To fulfil the need for land allotment legislation was included. The law was first fully codified in the Small Holdings and Allotment Act of 1908, it was modified by the Allotments Act of 1922 and subsequent Allotments Acts up until 1950.

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.