SIR – After reading the article (T&A, August 15) concerning close to 2,000 people being on the allotment waiting list, it does not surprise me.

Working the soil is a deep-rooted (no pun intended) instinctive human trait and is to do with an ancestral need to supply food.

More and more people are trying to find a tranquil antidote to the modern, high-speed, technological rat-race in which we live, and an allotment is just what the doctor ordered.

The Council is cracking down on people who do not use their plots – quite rightly so – to try and ease the waiting lists.

But people who cultivate their plots come in all categories. Some people are retired and have more time to devote to their plot, while others may work long hours and only have limited time for their plot. Some plot-holders are disabled to certain degrees.

All work their plots differently, but receive similar results.

It is difficult to lay down hard and fast rules on how tenants should work their plots.

It should be self-evident whether a tenant is working or shirking their plots and making new rules and regulations is not the whole answer.

Terry Tordoff, Calderstone Avenue, Buttershaw