St Ann's Allotments

St Ann’s Allotments lie just 1.5km from Nottingham city centre. Established in 1830, it is the oldest and largest collection of Victorian detached town gardens in the UK, and one of the biggest urban allotment sites in the world. There are 670 allotment gardens spread over 75 acres, 540 of which let to gardeners with the rest being used as conservation sites for wildlife or for community and heritage projects.

The site is home to more than 59 species of bird, 104 types of moths, 18 species of butterfly and 222 different plant species and has considerable heritage, biodiversity and social value. As well as being home to a range of community projects, there is a visitor centre housing heritage exhibitions and tours, museum plots and a Community Orchard.

The Allotments were extensively renovated between 2007 and 2017, thanks to a £4.5 million restoration project with £2.5million of National Lottery funding. This was after a 20-year campaign to ‘save the allotments’, which were largely neglected during the 1980s and 1990s.

The restoration project saw paths restored, gates, fences and signage improved, allotment plots regenerated, hedges and trees maintained, and terraces repaired. Most of the work was done by locals, members of the Renewal Trust, and the individual allotment gardeners who worked up a sweat digging new life into 670 plots, and contributed more than 30,762 volunteering hours.

St Anns’ Manager, Jo Leary, says “The National Lottery funding had an enormous impact on the revitalisation, public profile, accessibility and usability of the 75-acre St Ann’s Allotments site. Today, the site is a source of community pride for locals.”