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Council plot rents run GBP 25-125/yr depending on the borough (often half that with concessions): the waiting list is the real price in many cities. A full plot (250m2, "10 poles") feeds a family in season with gluts to give away: half plots suit most beginners. Budget the first year heavier: tools, a water butt, maybe a shed share: then it settles to seeds and compost.
What The Allotment Cost Calculator Works Out
- Annual cost: plot rent plus the yearly spend on seeds, compost and sundries. Council rents run from about GBP 25 to GBP 125 a year depending on the borough, and GBP 100 or so of consumables is typical once the first-season kit is bought.
- Net position: the supermarket replacement value of what you harvest minus the annual cost. A learning year or half plot returns around GBP 150 of produce, an established plot GBP 300, and a full 250 m2 plot in full stride GBP 500 or more, courgette glut included.
- The real return: a reminder that the lines no till records (outdoor hours, picked-this-morning flavour, plastic-free produce) are why most holders keep their plot even when the vegetable ledger is only slightly positive.
- Setup costs and years (advanced): one-off spending on tools, a water butt or a shed share, spread evenly over the years you expect to keep the plot. A first-year kit of GBP 150 to GBP 300 is common; spread over five years it adds GBP 30 to GBP 60 a year.
- Concession discount (advanced): many councils halve rents for pensioners, students and the unwaged. Enter the discount percentage and the rent paid falls accordingly.
- Other annual costs (advanced): metered water charges, allotment society membership, public liability insurance and shed rent, which some sites bill separately from the plot rent.
- Plot size and cost per square metre (advanced): plots are still let in poles (one pole is about 25 m2). A full plot is 10 poles, a half plot 5. The card shows the all-in annual cost and the harvest value per square metre so you can compare a half plot against a full one.
- Harvest value per hour worked (advanced): the harvest value divided by your season hours (weekly hours x 34 weeks, March to October). Few plots beat the minimum wage on produce alone, which is the honest arithmetic behind "grow what costs most to buy": soft fruit, salads, herbs and anything eaten within hours of picking.
- Custom harvest value and organic uplift (advanced): override the dropdown with your own tally, or value the produce at organic shop prices (typically 30% to 60% above standard lines) since an unsprayed plot is effectively organic.
- Setup payback and five-year table (advanced): how many years of surplus it takes to recover the setup spend, plus a year-by-year table that counts the first year at roughly 60% of a settled yield, which is the usual enthusiasm-cliff learning curve.