Summary Writing: Question 6

Bramwell Allotments, a plot of forty gardens on the edge of town, has kept a waiting list for over a decade, but this year that list has grown faster than at any point since records began, according to the site's committee.

Committee members point to a few likely causes. The price of fresh vegetables in local shops has risen sharply over the past two years, and several new applicants have told the committee they hope growing their own food will help stretch a tighter household budget. A number of nurses and delivery drivers who now work from home part of the week have also applied, saying they finally have the free daytime hours needed to keep a plot properly watered and weeded, something a full-time office job made difficult before.

Wider local publicity has played a part too. Several existing plot-holders post regular photographs of their harvests online, and two of these posts were shared widely this spring, prompting a noticeable spike in enquiries the following week. Oakfield Primary School, next door to the site, also runs a lunchtime gardening club with its own small demonstration plot, and several parents who came to watch a class visit went on to apply for full-sized plots of their own.

The site itself dates back to 1946, when land was first set aside for wartime food production, and its committee still meets in the same wooden hut used by the original growers.

Identify the reasons the passage gives for the recent rise in demand for plots at Bramwell Allotments. Then, in your own words, write a connected summary of no more than 45 words. (Up to 3 marks for relevant content; up to 2 marks for a concise, well-organised summary in your own words.) [5]