A new map has sparked debate over whether Edinburgh golf courses should be turned into allotments.
The map, posted on social media by Leith carpenter and outdoors enthusiast Luke Hear, shows large swathes of the capital given over to golf courses (shown in yellow).
In comparison, a handful of much smaller areas highlighted in pink shows the space allotments take up.
Lockdown has seen a surge in interest in gardening, and with residents reporting waits of up to nine years for an allotment.
The post sparked debate between golf lovers and wannabe veg growers.
Under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 residents should not be on the waiting list for an allotment for more than five years.
Some people spoke out in favour of keeping the golf courses. Twitter user Jick said: “You would have been better off playing golf buddy, or getting to know the very working class Edinburgh golfing community that pay to maintain acres of green city land, free to be used by walkers and the general public.”
However many found the map interesting, Mark Pearson commented: “My wife put her name down for an allotment a few years ago. She thinks it will still be a couple of years before she gets one.”
To which user Liz replied: “Took us nine years on the waiting list.”
Andy Arthur also posted a map from 2018 showing that 5.5 per cent of the land in Edinburgh was golf courses.
Edinburgh Council has been approached for a comment.
