Your say / allotments
‘Allotments are not just about growing vegetables; it’s about nurturing a different relationship’
The idea of allotments being a ‘good thing’ has spread considerably since Covid-19. More critically, there has also been a massive increase in public awareness that the food system – by which I mean the way food is grown, brought to market, paid for, advertised, and sold—is not just breaking down but breaking apart at the seams.
At the same time, the question of who owns land and how it is managed for the public good and from an ecological perspective, has risen up the agenda.
The allotments have been ‘growing a community for over 100 years’ – photo: Hotwells & District Allotment Association
The opportunity to grow your own food is an empowering thing. Recognising that you have agency over what you consume and how it is grown, not just by selecting it in a supermarket, is a feeling that can unlock something special. It can make you look at the world through a new set of eyes.
is needed now More than ever
When you know the true cost of a vegetable—the ache from digging, the repetition of weeding and watering, the frustration from losing plants to pests—you start to view things differently in the vegetable aisle, in a restaurant, and even in the way you think about birds and bugs.
Having somewhere to grow your own food can rewire your relationship with the food system. While not everything in life is linear, I firmly believe that if empowering people to grow their own food is a good thing, then the more we empower them, the better the outcome.
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Founded in 1917, the Hotwells & District Allotment Association (HwDAA) is a cooperative that runs six allotment sites around Ashton Vale and Bower Ashton. It has nearly 600 tenants, a shop, and some of the lowest rents and shortest waiting lists in the city. It is a democratic organisation, run by a team elected by its members, and independent from Bristol City Council.
I’ve been a tenant of HwDAA since 2013, lucky enough to serve as its chair since 2022. I have seen firsthand the benefits of community ownership and empowerment. Our relationship with the Bristol City Council allotments team is a good one, full of empathy for the staff who are passionate about their work despite limited resources.
But we at HwDAA, and at other cooperatives like us, have a distinct advantage—the passion of our members comes from their sense of ownership, not just of their individual plots but of the sites and the organisation as a whole, which they have a stake in. Rule changes, rent increases, and appointments are all decided by vote.
The reason we can keep our rents low is that our members and their families volunteer their time to help—keeping the waiting list moving, running the shop, maintaining the sites, filling potholes, trimming hedges, and clearing vacant plots. Our overheads are low.
Our members also make decisions about the use of pesticides, bans on bonfires, and the promotion of wildlife habitats. They encourage planting for pollinators and donate surplus produce to food banks. In short, they manage the sites with a mindset of stewardship, not just for their own benefit but for the community and the environment.
The big conversation being played out on a national level—about food systems, sustainability, and land use—is being actively shaped by the decisions made by ordinary people right here in our allotments.
The HwDAA is entirely volunteer-run, with tenants from all walks of life—accountants, software engineers, carpenters, teachers, retirees, students, ecologists, and tree surgeons—all contributing to the running of the organisation and the management of the sites.
This diversity of skills and perspectives makes the cooperative stronger, and it reflects the wider Bristol community.
Allotments like ours are microcosms of what can be achieved when people come together with shared goals and a sense of responsibility to one another, and in return, they inevitably unlock a greater understanding and experience of the changes required to improve our food system and public access to land.
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Conversely, we’re seeing the rise of privately owned allotments springing up across the UK, including in Bristol. Earlier this year, a venture capital-backed company opened private allotments just across the Suspension Bridge. At £34.99 per month for a small plot, plus a £40 joining fee, these plots are only accessible to those who have the financial means and, realistically, a car to transport themselves and their tools.
These spaces are instagrammable enclosures, they are not embedded in communities the way communities have needed them to be. The rewiring of our relationship with the food system should be an option for everyone, not just for those who can afford it.
Whether it be private allotments or council run allotments, any decision that reduces the accessibility of allotments and reduces the opportunity for food sovereignty threatens to turn something that has historically been a public good into an exclusive, privatised experience. Allotments, like other forms of community land use, need to remain accessible to everyone.
The traditional allotment model, with its modest fees and emphasis on cooperation, has endured for over a century for a reason. It provides a space where people can grow food, share knowledge, and foster community bonds.
The national conversation about food sovereignty, sustainability, and the future of land use is playing out in microcosms across cities like Bristol, where ordinary people are taking small but meaningful steps to reclaim a sense of agency over their food and their environment.
Allotments are part of a larger, necessary shift toward local, sustainable food systems. They offer a counterpoint to the large-scale, industrialised food chains that are failing both people and the planet.
In the end, allotment gardening is not just about growing vegetables; it’s about nurturing a different relationship with the land and with each other. It’s about understanding the value of food in a way that goes beyond monetary costs, recognising that our food systems are deeply intertwined with ecological health and social well-being.
The allotments of Bristol, and those like them across the country, are proof that local, community-driven efforts can be part of the solution to some of the most pressing challenges we face today. Could more co-operative run allotments be the local solution to a national problem?
This is an opinion piece by Josh Nesfield, chair of Hotwells & District Allotment Association
Main photo: Hotwells & District Allotment Association
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