My nearest allotments are a 36 mile round trip away I've been looking hard for land to rent.

My friend and I are about to approach a farmer regarding a piece of land near us that has sat idle for many years. It's a strip of land approx an acre in size and is cut once a year but that's the only activity.

Am I right in thinking that farmers receive a payment for unused land, if so how much is it per acre? Also - how many allotments to the acre is the norm?

A standard plot used to be Ten Rod.
So 16 plots to the acre.

See Confused by Rod, Pole or Perch for a full explanation.

Thanks for that Peter.

I called the farmer tonight, a lovely chap who's quite keen in seeing the field used. Seems that he sprays it once a year to try and keep in under some sort of control but other than that it lies idle. It's an acre in size and he does receive some sort of subsidy for having it set aside.

I told him that if it goes ahead we would be keen to cover both sides by putting a contract in place. He's going to have a chat with the guy that takes care of the finances to see if it's do-able and will get back to me. Fingers crossed, but if he does come back to us I have no idea how much the figure may be - place your bets.

If it is setaside and he recieves a payment for it it can not be cultivated that is why it is only seen once a year he cannot even graze it funny rules and a satelite camera looking down to see what go's on....jacob

Originally Posted by amandaandherveg

My nearest allotments are a 36 mile round trip away I've been looking hard for land to rent.

My friend and I are about to approach a farmer regarding a piece of land near us that has sat idle for many years. It's a strip of land approx an acre in size and is cut once a year but that's the only activity.

Am I right in thinking that farmers receive a payment for unused land, if so how much is it per acre? Also - how many allotments to the acre is the norm?

He will receive a set-aside subsidy for taking it out of production, so you may have to match the subsidy payment he receives. As a rough guide, my tenency agreement states that I rent the land at the going rental for potato acres - currently I rent for £250/acre. So if you get 16 allotments to an acre and pay £250 per acre then it works out at about £16 per allotment to cover the rent.

Thanks very much for that SR, I had heard that figure mentioned before but was unsure if it was current. Now we'll just have to wait and see what he has to say when he gets back to us.

oh i hope he does im so excited...couldnt sleep last night thinking of all the things i could grow..lol

You would get hit by a Change Of Use (COU) by the planners and then have to apply for planning permission and even for planning for any sheds and green houses...I know they are tempory buildings but they can insist on planning.

Originally Posted by NOG

You would get hit by a Change Of Use (COU) by the planners and then have to apply for planning permission and even for planning for any sheds and green houses...I know they are tempory buildings but they can insist on planning.

Hmm, I'd thought about that too NOG, don't tell Marielle, but I have a Plan B.

lol...oooh plan b...interesting