Figures show allotments being sold off

17:13 11th May 2011

Over 50,000 allotments have been sold off in the last 15 years, despite an increasing interest from people who want to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

That is according to planning minister Greg Clark, who has promised to start a campaign aimed at protecting existing allotments and finding areas that could potentially be transformed into sites.

Mr Clark said: "More and more people want to grow their own vegetables but sites are becoming unnecessarily difficult to come by ... we need to stop this decline in allotments."

He encouraged people to show their support for "neighbourhood planning" and said that by "develop[ing] a plan" residents could affect change.

In an interview with the Shropshire Star, Bunny Guinness, who has won six gold medals at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show, suggested that fruit and vegetables should take prime position in domestic gardens.

She said that rather than hiding them, gardeners should grow them "in high-profile places".