About Digital Allotment
Built by allotment volunteers, for allotment societies
Our Story
Like most self-run allotment societies, our journey started with paper, folders, and spreadsheets.
As volunteers running our own allotment society, we spent countless hours:
- Chasing rent payments
- Managing waiting lists by hand
- Filing Plot Reviews and risk assessments
- Keeping paper records of incidents, assets, and volunteers
We knew there had to be a better way.
Going Digital - The Hard Way
Our first step was to build a basic allotment website using WordPress and third-party plugins. At first, this helped - but only up to a point.
Over time, we found ourselves:
- Relying on lots of separate plugins that didn't talk to each other
- Constantly updating plugins and fixing conflicts
- Adapting our processes to fit the software - instead of the other way around
- Still missing key features needed to manage a whole society properly
To fill the gaps, we began developing our own WordPress plugin alongside the third-party tools. But maintaining a mixed system became complex, fragile, and time-consuming.
A Reality Check - Funding the Platform
Like most self-run allotment societies, we are not wealthy.
We don't have corporate backing, grants on tap, or large reserves sitting in the bank. Everything we do has to be self-funded, sustainable, and justifiable to our members.
So when we built Digital Allotment, the first question wasn't "is the software any good?" - it was "can the average society actually afford it?"
The honest answer is that most plot rent barely covers ground rent to the landlord, insurance, and basic site upkeep. Any new piece of software - however useful - has to pay for itself, or it simply won't happen. That is the conversation every committee needs to have.
And the answer, more often than not, is sitting on your waiting list.
The Maths Most Committees Haven't Run
Most allotment societies maintain a waiting list - often dozens, sometimes hundreds of people. That list is usually managed for free, indefinitely, at the cost of volunteer time and admin overhead.
A small annual waiting list administration fee changes the maths entirely. Whether to introduce one is a committee decision, not ours - but it's a conversation worth having on the back of an envelope before deciding Digital Allotment is out of reach.
An illustrative example:
- A society with 200 people on its waiting list
- A modest fee of £12 per year to remain on that list
- Generates £2,400 per year in ring-fenced income
That comfortably covers Digital Allotment for a mid-sized society and the Microsoft 365 licences a modern committee really ought to have for proper email, shared document storage, and member record keeping - with money still left over for the society itself.
It is not a radical idea. Brighton & Hove City Council, Hackney Allotment Society, and many others already operate exactly this way - charging a small annual or one-off fee to remain on a waiting list.
No grants. No loans. No risk to the society.
Just a sensible, transparent decision for the committee to weigh - made by volunteers, for the benefit of the whole community. Try the affordability calculator to run the numbers for your own society.
Starting Again - Properly
Eventually, we made a big decision.
Instead of patching together tools that weren't designed for allotment societies, we started from scratch and built a single, purpose-built system designed around how UK allotment societies actually work.
That system became Digital Allotment.
What We Built
Digital Allotment is a complete allotment society management platform, built as a single, integrated WordPress plugin, not a collection of bolt-ons.
It brings together everything a society needs, including:
- Plot and tenant management
- Waiting list management
- Rent and finance tracking
- Volunteer management
- Plot Reviews and reviews
- Risk assessments
- Health & safety incident recording
- Asset registers
- Committee workflows and reporting
All in one place. One system. One update path. No plugin chaos.
Our Mission
To give every allotment society in the UK access to simple, affordable tools that make running a society easier - so volunteers spend less time on paperwork and more time on the plots.
What We Believe
Allotments Matter
Allotments are vital community spaces that support wellbeing, sustainability, and social connection. They deserve proper tools to thrive.
Volunteers Deserve Better
Committee members give their time freely. Software should reduce their workload, not create more admin.
Simple Beats Complicated
If software isn't easy to use, it won't get used. Our platform is designed to be clear, practical, and accessible - even for non-technical users.
Fair Pricing
Small societies shouldn't pay enterprise prices. Digital Allotment is priced fairly and scales with your society.
Built From Real Experience
Digital Allotment isn't theoretical software - it's built from real-world frustration, tested in real societies, and shaped by real volunteers.
If you've ever thought:
"There must be an easier way to run this society..."
You're in the right place.
Get in Touch
Have questions? Want to see if Digital Allotment is right for your society?
We'd love to hear from you.
Contact UsOr set up your tenant today and take the paperwork out of allotments.
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