Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to protect allotments from development.

On 30 January, 2014 the Department published new guidance for local authorities and communities: “Allotment Disposal Guidance: Safeguards and alternatives”, which is intended to clarify the legal and policy safeguards in place to ensure that disposal is properly and thoroughly handled.

Through the Community Rights, Government has helped communities to protect allotments – over 20% of the first 50 neighbourhood plans promote allotments and around 50 allotment sites have been listed as ‘assets of community value’ meaning that the allotment holders on these sites would be able to pause the sale of land for up to 6 months to give them the opportunity to raise the money to buy it.

I also refer my rt. hon. Friend to the increase in allotment provision under this Government, as outlined in my answer of 14 May 2014, Official Report, Column 645-646W.