Allotments guidance for local authorities: consultation

5. Introduction

5.1 A shared purpose of the Scottish Government and its partners is to encourage Scotland to become a Good Food Nation ^[7] , with opportunities for everyone to grow their own food through increased access to land for grow-your-own activities.

5.2 This guidance sets out how we expect local authorities to deliver on our vision for grow-your-own in Scotland. It brings increased focus to the new functions of local authorities under Part 9 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, specifically the identification of land for food growing within our communities, and sets out how we expect local authorities to achieve this.

5.3 Many people in Scotland would like to grow their own food. Two of the biggest factors stopping people from growing their own food are access to land and lacking the skills and knowledge to begin growing their own food. In the 2017 Greenspace Use and Attitudes Survey by greenspace scotland ^[8] , 44% of people surveyed said that they had no garden in which to grow their own and a further 14% said they were unable to get an allotment or that the waiting list was too long, and 32% of people said that they lacked the knowledge or skills to grow their own vegetables or fruit.

5.4 Central to the theme of this food-growing strategy guidance is ensuring that more opportunities are developed for those who would like to grow their own food. Local authorities and other delivery partners are essential in both delivering access to land for food growing, and in signposting people to sources of guidance to help them begin to grow their own. We want to avoid people being given access to food-growing space but not having the knowledge to properly use the land to begin to grow their own food.