The Farm manages 13 acres of community allotments, formerly known as Ashley Vale Allotment Association, that surround the Farm site. It is bounded by Stony Lane, Ashley Hill and the railway line on the side of Gaunt Lane.
Please note: the allotment site on the north side of Stony Lane is managed separately by Bristol City Council.
With a common theme of connecting people to food, nature and their community, the Farm views the Allotment site as an important asset for the local community, including plot holders, local residents and wildlife.
AVAA Allotments forms part of a green lung which links the heart of Bristol with its northern outskirts creating a series of safe creature corridors, providing a home for wildlife, generating tonnes of local food for plot holders and of course, presents a wonderful view for all that pass its boundaries.
Waiting List
The waiting list is currently 6 years long! To join the waiting list you must download the Application form, fill out the relevant sections and return it by email to office@swcityfarm.co.uk or return it to the Farm Office on Watercress Road, St Werburghs, Bristol, BS2 9YJ.
All information on this form and other correspondence may be shared with Ashley Vale Allotment Association and Bristol City Council. We will correspond with all plot holders using email unless asked otherwise.
If you are helping out someone else and in the future might want to take over their allotment, you must ensure the Farm is notified. Only those that have been actively gardening on and ‘assigned’ to a plot for 24 months or more will be able to take over a friend/family member's plot. Please be aware that if you are listed as a plot sharer on someone else's plot, the named plot holder does have the right to remove you as a sharer if they choose to (regardless of how long you have been helping on their plot).
Taking on a plot
There are a variety of shaped allotments across the whole site and they are in a variety of conditions – we offer a 1st year discount for a plot in poor condition. We cannot say what plots will be available when you are at the top of the list but you can refuse 2 offered plots. Our site is mostly hilly, is mostly clay and is not for the faint-hearted so please consider fully your time commitment to an allotment plot. Experienced plot holders say that you need approximately 10 hours a week to manage an average plot.
Plot Letting
Once you are assigned an allotment, you will automatically become a member of Ashley Vale Allotment Association. The Association committee organise a number of activities and events to better support plot holders and to make the site a great community to be a part of.
Plot checks will be carried out in April each year to identify abandoned plots and those not being adequately maintained or cultivated. These will then be re-allocated to the next people on the waiting list. Plot holders taking overgrown plots are given extra time to work towards good cultivation but are expected to maintain them within the first six months to a year.
Check out the information sheets in the navigation menu.
