Leisure and Culture

Allotments

This page contains the following information:

Why rent an allotment?
How do I rent an allotment?
Hastings & St Leonards Allotments Federation
Competitions
How much will it cost me?
Allotment Sites
Ten helpful hints for new tenants
Contact Information

Why rent an allotment?

Add a new dimension to your leisure time. An allotment can provide fresh fruit and vegetables, a healthy outdoor life and a place to relax.

The Council manages 600 allotment plots spread over 30 acres on twelve sites.

How do I rent an allotment?

Please contact us, or call into the Hastings Information Centre. You can download an Allotment Application Form (.pdf 53KB) from this site. The St Leonards Allotment Association manages the site in Vale Road and the Marina Horticultural and Allotment Association manages the site in Tudor Avenue.

Most allotments are fully tenanted and there will be a wait for all sites but your name can easily be added to the appropriate tenants list.

Many sites have a designated representative to liaise with the Borough Council and attend the Allotment Site Secretary meetings.

Hastings & St Leonards Allotments Federation

The Federation was formed by a number of Allotment Site Secretaries in August 1998 to act as a lobbying force for all allotment gardeners in the Borough. This group is independent of the Council and meets to discuss improvements, the future of allotments and allotment policy. If you would like to represent your allotment site at bi-monthly meetings or have any comments, please contact the Federation on 01424 432849.

Competitions

Each year the Council awards a cup for 'The Best Kept Allotment Site'.

How much will it cost me?

Rent for plots in Council management is £2.21 per rod, per year (one rod is 30.25 square yards or 25.29sq metres and 5 rods is 126.46 sq metres), plus an additional 78p per rod, per year for water.

The total rent for the average size plot (ten rods) is just £29.90 per year.

Allotment Sites

In Hastings:

Lower Cornwallis - Lower Park Road
Downs Road - Downs Road
BOS Field - Elphinestone Road
Collier Road - Collier Road
Bembrook - Croft Road
Lower Torfield - Old London Road
Fernbank - Old London Road
Paul's Field - Ashburnham Road
Lower Clive Vale - Off Harold Road

In St Leonards:

Harley Shute - Harley Shute Road
Marina - Tudor Avenue
Choice - Blackman Avenue
Tivoli - Mildenhall Drive
Vale Road/Shornden - Vale Road

Ten helpful hints for new tenants

If you have no tools, buy only the essentials: spade, fork, hoe, rake, trowel and watering can.
For your back's sake do not rush clearance and digging. It is best to start in the autumn.
If a plot is badly weeded over, it is best to skim off the top and then dig it.
Ensure that you remove the roots of docks, dandelions and couch grass as these will regrow.
Start a compost heap for vegetable matter.
Do not start sowing seeds in the open too early, as many are lost in the cold and wet ground.
You will need to water plants that are being transplanted until they become established.
Aim for a succession of crops throughout the year and rotate crops in sequence.
Plant flowers to make the plot more colourful.
Fellow plot holders can also give lots of advice.

Contact Information

Please contact us for further information and advice on matters relating to Allotments.

This page last updated: 01/10/2009