Families waiting for allotments will be bouyed by the news that 59 new ones will be available in Southwick Country Park by the end of the month.

West Wiltshire District Council has spent £17,000 creating the allotments, providing enough plots to enable all 59 people on the waiting list to have an allotment if they still want one.

The plots will be available for use by the end of March, just in time for the main growing season.

The council’s Leisure and Recreation Development Plan, adopted by the new Wiltshire Council, provides a mechanism to ensure the provision of further allotment facilities as new major housing sites are developed. Cllr Linda Conley, portfolio holder for the environment, said: “This is terrific news for those who have been waiting for allotment places to come up in the area.

"It is a very popular site and it is great to be able to say that we are now able to accommodate everybody.

“These are very tough economic times and the district council is doing all it can to help people through them. There has been a move towards growing your own vegetables and this will give a helping hand to those who want to do this.”