Valuing non-market benefits derived from allotments in southeast England: A contingent valuation study

The English derive a wide range of values from allotments, but nearly 35% of allotments have disappeared in the last 20 years. The real value of allotments has probably been underestimated. The contingent valuation method (CVM) was used to give a monetary value to benefits derived from allotments by allotment holders and local residents. The study was conducted in southeast England (Wye and Ashford, Kent and Greater London). A postal survey with open-ended questions was filled in by 124 allotment holders and 74 residents. Respondents were asked to express their maximum willingness to pay for allotments (WTP) and the minimum willingness to accept (WTA) compensation for loss of allotments. The mean annual WTP for keeping allotments of allotment holders were 78.93 pound, 35.64 pound and 79.43 pound, and for local residents were 41.66 pound, 46.14 pound and 283.57 pound, in Wye, Ashford and London, respectively. The allotment holders' WTP was strategically more than WTA compensation and they were only willing to pay rent for using allotments, not for retaining them.