Waiting list for allotments in England almost doubles in 12 years

There are at least 157,820 outstanding applications to local authorities, and waits of up to 15 years

There are few things so quintessentially English as the allotment, but the number of people waiting for a space of their own has almost doubled in the last 12 years.

The most recent figures, obtained by independent artists and supported by Greenpeace through freedom of information requests, show there are now at least 157,820 applications sitting on English local authorities' allotment waiting lists, up 81% from 12 years ago when researchers found the figure was 86,787.