The Health and Wellbeing Value of Allotments

Allotments are found throughout the country, and provide opportunities for people to grow their own produce on a leased plot of land in a community space. These are important green spaces, enhancing the local environment, providing a source of food, bringing communities together, are an educational tool, and have many health and wellbeing benefits. Allotments grew in popularity throughout the 20th Century, and have seen a resurgence in popularity due to an increased public interest in sustainability and self-sufficiency.

We have eight allotment sites within communities across the county. The newest of these sites is the Geufron in Rhyl. This was opened as part of the Enabling Natural Resources and Wellbeing (ENRAW) project, an initiative to improve access to nature and promote health and wellbeing along the North Wales coast through a corridor of urban green spaces. Denbighshire’s allotments are as follows:

• The Morfa, Prestatyn
• Glas Meadows, Denbigh
• Greenfield Road, Ruthin
• Fron Bache, Llangollen
• Uwch y Dre, Corwen
• Crescent Road, Rhyl
• Ffordd Las, Rhyl
• The Geufron, Rhyl

Allotments promote an active lifestyle through the manual work required in looking after an allotment, and can be an effective form of exercise. In addition, allotments promote mental wellbeing through access to the outdoors, providing people with an activity to focus on and take pride in, and offering new social opportunities within the local community. Taking up an allotment is increasingly recommended by healthcare professionals to alleviate a range of mental and physical health issues. This is particularly important in urban areas with limited access to green space, with many residents not having their own garden.

These spaces encourage local residents to grow their own produce, whilst learning new gardening skills. A healthy diet is encouraged through producing their own fruit and vegetables, which is particularly important for households who may struggle to afford healthy produce. This in turn promotes a healthy lifestyle and promotes wellbeing. Allotments also reduce plot holders’ reliance on supermarkets and help them move towards self-sufficiency and a more sustainable way of living, as well as increasing awareness of the importance of local produce.

Allotments are known for bringing people from across the community together, of all ages and backgrounds. Gardening can be an icebreaker as it provides a common interest for people to connect over, and can alleviate social isolation. Allotment groups are becoming increasingly popular. In Denbighshire, Prestatyn Community Allotment Group provides gardening opportunities for those who do not have a plot, and is a social opportunity for local people. There are plans for a new initiative in Rhyl through the ENRAW project to provide allotment spaces for Syrian refugee families, where they can grow their own produce and share gardening skills. At the Corwen allotments, a number of volunteer sessions brought volunteers from across the county together to tidy up the allotments and repair a dry-stone wall on the site. In Denbigh, there are plans for a community orchard alongside the allotments, and Vale of Clwyd Mind run weekly gardening sessions. Through these sessions, the Council is providing educational opportunities in rural skills, which can be shared and passed down to the next generation.

The green spaces provided by allotments are vital in urban areas, where such spaces are hard to come by due to pressures to build more housing and reduce garden sizes. Allotments therefore provide havens for wildlife in Denbighshire’s towns. Plants grown in the allotments, and grass banks surrounding them, are an important habitat for insect pollinators. This in turn benefits birds and small mammals. These green spaces allow the migration of wildlife across urban areas. Therefore, urban green spaces can have an impact on biodiversity on a large scale. In the Prestatyn allotments, a solitary bee box has been installed to provide a nesting habitat, and has been a success, showing that insect life can thrive in these spaces. Urban green spaces such as these are vital places for local people to enjoy wildlife and the outdoors, especially for those who have difficulty travelling out of urban areas into the countryside, which further boosts health and wellbeing.

The Council aims to increase awareness of the health and wellbeing benefits of allotments through the promotion of its allotment sites, and working with community groups. Denbighshire hopes that the popularity of allotments will continue to grow in order to promote healthy lifestyles in urban areas.

For more information on our allotments, contact claudia.smith@denbighshire.gov.uk.