Forty names and a vacant plot
A plot holder gives up plot 14 in October. The clerk opens the waiting list spreadsheet, which has names going back several years, some with a phone number, some with an email, a few with just a street. The first person on the list moved away last year. The second does not answer. The third says they took a plot at the neighbouring village and forgot to tell anyone. By the time the fourth person accepts, it is December and plot 14 is under brambles.
Meanwhile a resident emails a councillor to ask where they are on the list, the councillor forwards it to the clerk, and the clerk has to count down the rows by hand, knowing some of those rows are people who no longer want a plot. The answer they give is honest, and it is also a guess.
Why the list never stays accurate
The list only changes when someone joins or when the clerk makes an offer. Nobody on it has any reason to say they have lost interest, so the list grows with names that are no longer real. The clerk carries the full cost of that, one unanswered phone call at a time.
- Applications arrive by email, by a paper form left at the hall and by word of mouth through the allotment association.
- Residency rules, if your policy has them, are checked when someone applies and never again.
- Half plots and full plots are on the same list, or on two lists kept in different places.
- Offers are made by phone, so there is no record of who was offered what and when they declined.
- The association's secretary may keep a separate list of their own that does not match yours.
The cost to the council and to residents
Plots sit empty for weeks between tenants, and an empty plot turns into a weedy one that the next tenant has to clear. Residents who have waited patiently lose faith when they hear someone newer got a plot first, even if the reason was that they did not answer the phone. Councillors get questions they cannot answer. And the clerk, who may be part time, spends hours each season on a job that is mostly chasing.
There is also a fairness point. If the order of offers is ever questioned, a list with no dates and no record of declined offers is hard to stand behind.
An allotment waiting list that maintains itself
What we build is small and specific to how councils run allotments.
- An application form on your council website that collects the details your policy asks for, including address for any residency rule and a choice of plot size.
- Each applicant gets a record with the date they joined, which fixes their place in the order your policy sets.
- Once a year, or at a time you choose, everyone on the list gets an email asking them to confirm they are still interested, with one click to stay on or come off. People who do not respond after a reminder are flagged for the clerk to decide on, never removed automatically.
- When a plot comes free, the clerk marks it vacant and the system shows the next eligible person for that plot size.
- The offer goes out by email with a deadline you set. Accepted, declined or no reply is recorded with the date.
- An accepted offer creates the new tenancy record and hands over to your rent and agreement process.
| Question a resident asks | Where the answer comes from |
|---|---|
| Where am I on the list? | Their position for the plot size they chose, sent on request or shown on a simple page |
| Why did someone else get a plot? | The offer history with dates and responses |
| Can I change to a half plot? | The clerk updates the record, keeping the original join date if your policy allows |
| Have you lost my application? | The confirmation email they received and the record behind it |
If your allotment association runs the site on the council's behalf, their secretary can be given access to the same list rather than keeping their own.
A normal autumn with it in place
A plot is given up. The clerk marks it vacant, checks the next name, and sends the offer from the system. Two days later the applicant accepts by clicking a link and the clerk sends out the tenancy agreement. When a councillor asks how long the list is, the clerk can give a real number because the annual check removed the people who moved on.
The spreadsheet can be imported on day one, so nobody loses their place. Old entries with no contact details are flagged for the clerk to decide on rather than being deleted.
Does this sound like your allotments?
- The waiting list is a spreadsheet only the clerk opens.
- Offers are made by phone and not recorded.
- You suspect a good part of the list no longer wants a plot.
- The allotment association keeps a different list from yours.
- Residents ask their position and the answer takes a morning to work out.