Prospective beekeepers with nowhere to put a hive are to be matched with available land by a new website aimed at harnessing surging interest in urban beekeeping.

The "Hive Talking" site has an interactive map designed to connect people who want to keep bees with gardeners and allotment keepers who are happy to have bees on their land.

The scheme is part of the Co-operative's £1m Plan Bee campaign to address the plight of the honeybee, amid concerns that the population in England halved between 1985 and 2005. The campaign has also supported courses in urban beekeeping and established city-based hives.

Chris Shearlock, sustainable development manager at the Co-operative, said: "More and more city-dwellers are taking up beekeeping but not everyone has the space to keep bees. On the other hand, many have the land … By bringing these parties together, Hive Talking could help reverse honeybee decline in the UK."

Brian McCallum, co-founder and director of Urban Bees, who came up with the idea for the interactive map, said: "Some of the beekeepers I have trained have struggled to find land on which to keep their bees, but as honeybees are pollinators of many wildflowers, fruit and vegetables, allotment holders and gardeners appreciate the benefit of accommodating a hive on their land."PA