Birmingham Council allotment price increase

sassy_one

Contact your MP

If all else fails, I have contacts in National Tabloids (Press) and will give you details if you contact me, by private message!

Kay_Peel

Ernisius wrote: »

I only took up the allotment this year, but I will try and keep a tally next year......

This year I spent a lot of money on a shed, material for beds, nets, rain barrels etc. I would not have if I had known about such a steep increase was on the way. I will pay the £28 this year and £40 next year. Then I will probably give it up rather than pay £60 the following year

I'd be reluctant to walk away after all the labour, time and money that you've invested. The sharp increase in rent is eye-watering and disappointing on top of all that effort and I can understand how deflated you feel.

You've made the one-off big purchases like a shed, you've built your own beds and installed water butts. You've done all the ground work and that's a credit to you. In the short-term you'll make a loss, but that's to be expected with any enterprise. As long as you don't have any more major spending projects then you should start to break even and eventually the allotment will pay for itself in the longish term.

Well done for what you've achieved so far - don't waste it and good luck for the future! :hello:

Yorkie1

It is a large increase in rents, yes. Some other areas still pay less. But in my area the rents are already at the level you will reach, and I am aware of other councils where the rents are higher.

miss_peekaboo

i have a private allotment. its £125 for a single plot 10m -12.5m

i took a double plot 10m by 25m for £250 per year. £4.80 per week. it would cost me more to go to a zumba class!!


there are no council allotments anywhere near me at all. i was outgrowing my tiny garden plot so this came up at the right time.

its a lot of money but i think the benefits far outway the price!

kippers

Here in Leicester i have 3 allotments (there are still plenty of plots available) and i pay £50 for all 3. I grow to supply my familiy with fruit and veg and i certainly couldn't afford to keep the plots on if the price was £75 per plot

Aberdeenplotter

The following is a duplication of a post in another thread but repeated here for the benefit of Birmingham Allotment holders.

Local authorities are not entitled to victimise allotment holders or discriminate against them by applying higher increases in charges to them than are applied to other users of Council owned recreational facilities. There was a case in the Chancery division of the high court Harwood v Reigate and Banstead Council in 1981 which dealt with this issue.

The most telling bits from that judgement are as follows. In the judgement, Mr Vivian Price QC made the following observation "What does seem to me to be the right approach for the defendants to take is not to discriminate against this recreational activity as compared with other recreational activities" he goes on to say " in the ordinary case, if there is to be an increase in the rent charged, then it should be in line with the other increases that have been charged for the use of the other recreational facilities". He concludes by saying that the stance taken By Reigate and Banstead Council "has resulted, in this particular case in an unfair and excessive charge being imposed upon the allotment holders"

You may also care to note Also the provisions of the The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 makes it automatically unfair for the landlord to impose an arbitrary increase in rent. Guidance by the OFT on unfair terms in tenancy agreements indicates that unless increases are linked to such external factors as the RPI or evaluated by an objective person independent of the landlord they may be deemed to be unfair.


Anyone faced with increases should bring these matters to the attention of their Council.

A copy of the judgement and a summary of the case can be seen on our website which I can't give you a link to as a new user but if you do a search on Bucksburn Allotments and go to the page on relevant court cases, you will find the detail there.