Food and agriculture

Woman: The allotment waiting list's gone past nine hundred names. Councillor Fenwick wants every full-size plot split in two as soon as it becomes vacant. Man: That would halve the waiting time on paper. But I'm not convinced land is really what we're short of. Woman: With nine hundred people waiting? Man: Look at last summer's inspection records. Nearly a fifth of the plots were hardly being used: a couple of rows of beans and the rest brambles. Most of those tenants have been there over ten years, and nobody's ever given anything up, because our warning letters are so vague that no one takes them seriously. Woman: Well, I'm not going to start evicting pensioners who've gardened there for thirty years. Man: Nor am I. And plenty of them would share if we asked. Several told the inspectors it's all got too much for them. Woman: So instead of splitting plots when they fall vacant, we write to tenants who are struggling and offer them a partner from the waiting list. Man: And we rewrite the letters so it's clear what 'cultivated' actually means. Splitting can wait until we see whether we still need it. Woman: Agreed. I'll put it to Fenwick, though I doubt he'll be delighted.