And while that assertion may be taking things a little far, there is no denying that thousands of folk, including lots of the younger generation, are suddenly keen to get their hands dirty and discover the joys of going back to the good earth.

Growing your own food is especially trendy. The results are very tasty and it all helps protect the environment by slashing so-called food miles – the huge distances clocked up by gigantic lorries and planes that cart foodstuffs from all over the world to lade our tables.

All of which adds to the allure of allotments, the coveted strips of land where those who know their onions can lavish care on their leeks.

Apparently more than 300 people in Calderdale are on the waiting list for a chance to dig right in.

So three cheers for housebuilding firm Britannia Developments, which has turned over a chunk of its unused land to become allotments.

The land, off Wood Nook Lane at Sowerby Bridge, was left empty when Britannia put up a development of 90 or so homes at the nearby former Albert Mills site. It should provide up to a dozen new allotments which, according to the Calderdale Allotment and Leisure Gardeners' Federation, have already been snapped up.

A £10,500 grant from Awards for All will help pay for the groundwork.

At some point, of course, Britannia may need the land back. But for the time being it is pleasing to think that instead of lying disused it is feeding people's hunger for good land – and good vegetables.