Dunoon and District Allotment Association (DDAA) has cultivated a healthy membership of more than 40 since it was formed in 2005.

But the organisation does not have so much as a window-box to tend, thanks to a long-running stand-off with the local authority.

The campaigners, who jokingly refer to themselves as "virtual reality gardeners", have so far failed to persuade Argyll and Bute Council to provide them with even a modest stretch of land to divide into plots.

Now the association is preparing to take its case to officials one final time and is confident of gaining a breakthrough.

But if an agreement cannot be reached, the horticultural hiatus in the picturesque tourist resort could end up being settled in court.

Alan Watterson founded DDAA three years ago, but has become exasperated by the lack of process.

"People in the town are crying out for allotments, but so far we have been banging our heads against a brick wall," he said. "The council's attitude seems to be that everyone in Dunoon has big houses with big gardens so there is no need for allotments, but that is just not the case."

The community warden, who is employed by the authority, added: "Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide allotments and that is all we have been asking them to comply with.

"We would like to get access to two or three acres of unused land to use for the good of the community.

"It is hardly an unreasonable demand, but up until now the thinking seems to be 'we've never had allotments in the past so why do we need them now?'"

Watterson's frustration has led to him stepping down as chairman. New chairwoman Jan Thomas hopes a resolution could be on the horizon.

She said: "We have been invited to give a presentation to council members on Monday, May 19, and hopefully we can get something going from there."

Thomas declined to make any further comment in advance of the hearing.

But it is understood that the group, in conjunction with national body the Scottish Allotments and Garden Society, has already explored the idea of taking legal action against the council. They believe that the authority may have been in breach of the Allotments (Scotland) Acts of 1892 and 1922 in not providing allotments within a reasonable period of time.

A spokeswoman for Argyll and Bute Council said: "We have put a significant amount of work into this, and the Dunoon and District Allotment Association have been invited to give a presentation to local members at their next business meeting."

Last month, Scotland on Sunday revealed that more than 3,000 Scots face waits of up to 10 years to be issued with a plot of land by their local authority.

A countrywide shortage of allotments means that waiting lists can stretch to nine years in Glasgow, eight in Edinburgh and three in both Stirling and Fife. Gardeners requesting a plot in Aberdeen and Dundee can expect to wait two years before they are successful.