By Marcus Jaye
Once a sign of style and prestige, the allure of the swanky members club is looking a little shaky. People are growing tired of paying for the privilege of queuing at a marble-topped bar or desperately searching for a spare wenge wood table. Soho House recently had to deny claims that members were fleeing its clubs due to overcrowding and a ‘decline in service quality’.
Springing up like forest mushrooms, it is difficult to ascertain an exact number of London’s members’ clubs – indeed it’s increasingly difficult to tell exactly what a members’ club is. Many are now the hospitality equivalent of the business class curtain on a short-haul flight: pointless. While the luxury smellies in the bathrooms are nice, the sheen of exclusivity is often lacking.
It’s probably far harder to get into your local allotment. “It’s great escapism; especially for those who lack in green spaces of their own,” says Carrie Webster from Allotment Online, a community for growers.
A new generation of allotments – with the pricey monthly fees to match – have appeared since the pandemic. Founded in 2022, Bath-based Roots Allotments is tapping into the burgeoning demand, with locations in Bath, Stourbridge and Wolverhampton now joined by London’s first outpost in sunny Croydon, with more planned for the capital.
Prices are such that you’ll have to start harvesting white truffles to justify costs-per-veggie, but that’s really not the point. This is about nourishing the soul as well as looking smug, having joined London’s most exclusive club as a prized allotment holder.
A ‘Starter’ sized pitch – 3×12 metres – starts at £19.99 a month, with a £39.99 joining fee, while, if you want friends to join, a Group plot is £49.99 a month, considerably more than the local authority would charge. This includes access to organically sourced seeds and plug plants, shared tools, in-person events and access to educational videos. And, most importantly, it has replaced the snooty receptionist, with an ‘on-site patch manager’ for your every growing demand.
“We currently have waiting lists for a number of our sites,” says Root Allotments founder Ed Morrison. If our waiting list hits 300 or more people we look to open another site to get on top of it.”
There are currently an estimated 330,000 allotments across the UK. A 2020 survey by the National Allotment Society stated that there are over 100,000 people on allotment waiting lists in the UK. Almost 87 percent of UK local authorities experienced increases in demand for allotments in 2022 and over 58 percent of them said the average waiting time is over 18 months, an increase of 26 percent on the year before. Some council sites even have a waitlist for the waitlist. It makes getting a Birkin look like child’s play.
Alan Heeks, author of new book Natural Happiness, which explores the fundamental link between improved mental health and gardening, explains the demand: “It’s hard for city dwellers to access the grounding force of the earth. Pottering around your allotment can bring much-needed perspective to your life. Limited daylight hours and the seasons force you to be intentional with your time.”
Green is the new black. Brassicas instead of burrata. Pumpkins over picantes. If you can’t beet ‘em, join ‘em.
