'Ijoined every waiting list' The search for a plot in Glasgow

Nestled among tenement flats and light industrial units in Glasgow's south side is one of the oldest allotment sites in Scotland, having moved to its current location in 1872.

- Robin Tyne

New Victoria Gardens is not a huge site, just 70 or so plots.

But, according to Andrew Greg, a committee member and longstanding plot-holder at NVG, there are about 300 people on the waiting list, and just three or four will get a space every year.

One would-be plotholder is Ralph Bennett-Richards, who joined the waiting list two years ago after moving into his central Glasgow flat. Ralph is among the two-thirds of the city's population who live in flats, rather than houses, meaning few people in the city have their own garden. "I'd be happy with any allotment that I can cycle to from my flat," he tells me.

Unfortunately for Ralph - and many others the issue is not how far away the allotments are, but the lack of available plots.

Existing sites are often located in built-up areas, so can be hard if not impossible to expand.