Jeremy Corbyn has criticised Angela Rayner, the local government secretary, for rules that allow councils to sell allotments to fund day-to-day spending, saying it “makes the future of these precious spaces even more perilous”.
Rules on council asset sales mean local authorities can sell off sites to help “deliver transformation and invest-to-save projects” they would otherwise not be able to afford.
Corbyn, writing for the Telegraph, said the possible sale of allotments would fill many with “deep dismay”.
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“Allotments have always been under threat from developers. Now, that threat seems to have government backing, which makes the future of these precious spaces even more perilous,” he said.
The National Allotment Society (NAS) urged calm over the issue, saying there had been “no change to the legal protections that apply to statutory allotments” and that “no statutory site can be sold or developed without going through a clearly defined legal process”.
The government has approved the sale of eight allotment sites, in Somerset, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Nottinghamshire, West Sussex, Derbyshire and Kent, since coming to power last year. In Storrington, West Sussex, there are plans to build 78 new houses on a former allotment site.
NAS said the eight approvals represented a slight decrease in allotment disposals in recent years, and that it had not challenged any of the applications as they had all met the legal threshold with either low take-up of plots or alternative allotment space provided elsewhere. The rules date back to 2016, and councils must seek government approval for any allotment sales
Corbyn, who recently launched a new leftwing party with his former Labour colleague Zarah Sultana, is well known to be devoted to his north London allotment. He said “property developers have always had their eyes on these parcels of land”.
“Together with local authorities, they construct various arguments for building over them,” Corbyn said. “Instead of contemplating sales of these wonderful spaces, the government should be encouraging the growth of allotments, or where there is insufficient land, the growth of community and school gardens.
“Is this government going to put the nail in the coffin of the joy of digging ground for potatoes on a cold, wet February Sunday afternoon?”
Jim McMahon, the housing, communities and local government minister, has previously said that it was “for local authorities to determine how best to use this flexibility” over asset sales, including what to sell, but that decisions should “demonstrate value for money and be in the best interests of local residents”.
Cash-strapped councils are increasingly selling off assets to try to make ends meet.
Birmingham city council, which in 2013 issued a section 114 notice, in effect declaring itself bankrupt, has sold more than £56m worth of assets, including a city centre car park, a former children’s centre and a former motor racing circuit. Earlier this year, commissioners told the local authority to increase asset sales to £1bn to balance the books.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We know how important allotments are for communities, and that is why strict criteria is in place to protect them.
“The rules on the sale of assets have been in place since 2016 and have not changed. Ministerial approvals for the sale of allotments in 2024 were lower than the average for recent years.”
