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We're all green these days and those of us with green fingers may well fancy an allotment.

Fresh veg, fresh air, what's not to like? The waiting list.

I read in my local paper that some people have been waiting for years to wield a spade and I realise how lucky I am to have a veg patch at the bottom of my garden, however neglected.

There is a huge demand for allotments. Adam Keating from Basildon Council told me: "We have got waiting lists of more than 150 people. We're keen to create allotments because there is a need and we're fully subscribed at present."

There's a plan afoot for 100 new plots in the Laindon area of the town funded mostly by developers with a £60,000 contribution from the council.

But now the , which represents more than 350 councils in England and Wales, wants allotments to be eligible for grants from the

What's that?

Well, apparently the Government provides grants for projects within 10 miles of an active landfill site. And there is one in that would fit the bill.

At present guidelines for the scheme stipulate that allotments are excluded, since they are used by individuals, not the general public.

Don't individuals add up to the general public?

Growing green with grants from rubbish has an attractive symmetry, don't you think?

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