A: Contact your parish council to find out where your nearest allotment sites are. Your local or parish council will usually own allotment land and will either allocate you a plot or add your name to the waiting list if there is one. If there are no council allotments in your area, your council may be able to put you in touch with private sites.

If you think a whole allotment is too much (approximately 250 square metres) then ask if you can rent a half plot or share the plot with a friend.

Your rights depend on what type of allotment you have. There are three types of allotment:

• permanent allotments - these cannot be sold or used for other purposes without the consent of the Secretary of State
• temporary allotments - these are not protected from disposal and can therefore be sold
• privately-owned land  - this can also be let for use as allotments but is not protected from disposal by your local council

Source: DirectGov