allotment rent increase 2011

valk_scot

Little_Miss_Determined wrote: »

I never realised how cheap they were! People pay over £30 a month to go to the gym. An allotment will get you just as healthy and you end up with delicious veg.

Well, they're not as cheap as just the rent money. If you move into an overgrown or neglected allotment you often have to pay out for a shed, slabs for under the shed, wood for compost bins and path/bed edgings, compost or maure in your first year, possibly fertilizer and weedkiller, fleece, nets, seeds, tools...the list goes on.

I got my allotment 14 years ago and I think over my first year I spent about £200, including an ex-display shed, slabs for under it and some basic tools. I scavenged a lot of wood etc out of skips and bought as much as possible second hand but it was still expensive that first year. Now I probably lay out about £80 per year on seeds, seed potatoes, mushroom compost (we buy in bulk on our site), a couple of bags of organic chicken fertilizer (ditto), new nets, labels and sundries like nails. Last year I needed a roll of felt to re-roof the shed, so that cost extra. This year I want to build a low level cold frame/greenhouse, so that will cost extra for proper wood and tough plastic for the cover.

And you still have to think about your costs per hour...minimum wage plus petrol, for example! Home grown veg isn't cheap if you look at it that way! But yes, if you regard it as your leisure activity of choice for exercise and fun it's an incredible bargain on many levels, not just financial.

Little_Miss_Determined

I do agree Val that grow you're own is not a way of saving money! It makes me giggle when you see it on lists of ways to save money. I dug my first veg patch in my garden last year and, like you, spent a fortune. This year I'm hoping that I won't have to spend quite so much and will end up with a little more veg but I still don't expect it to be very moneysaving.

mi_jardin

Mine went up from £17 to £19 last autumn, and that includes water so it is cheap. However, I do agree with posters above that overall it is not always cheaper to grow your own, it depends on what you grow. Berries, asparagus etc are expensive in the supermarket so you definately save. I guess the longer you have the plot the cheaper it gets as you have the expense of set up, in my case shed and fencing.

[Deleted User]

nodwah wrote: »

The fees actually went up last year from £22 to £25 and the extra was supposed to be paying for rental of a portaloo over the summer months - but it never appeared :mad: Find out at the AGM
(once our shed is up I can get a bucket in there just in case :rotfl )

Our allotment is 15 mins walk from here and there is no loo so I always go there on my bike as it is a quick 3 minutes to home as it is all downhill. :cool:

[Deleted User]

Little_Miss_Determined wrote: »

I do agree Val that grow you're own is not a way of saving money! It makes me giggle when you see it on lists of ways to save money. I dug my first veg patch in my garden last year and, like you, spent a fortune. This year I'm hoping that I won't have to spend quite so much and will end up with a little more veg but I still don't expect it to be very moneysaving.

I thought it was just me overspending during my first year. Shed, slabs, tools, twine, weed control fabric, compost bins, hoops and nets etc etc seeds have also added up to a lot, even though I got 30 packs of marshalls seeds at a a show for £20. Raised beds coming up next year and I honestly hope that will be the main spend done and dusted

I suppose the trick is to grow veggies that add on the greatest value but I cannot resist the home grown potatoes and cabbages

Kirri

Little_Miss_Determined wrote: »

I do agree Val that grow you're own is not a way of saving money! It makes me giggle when you see it on lists of ways to save money. I dug my first veg patch in my garden last year and, like you, spent a fortune. This year I'm hoping that I won't have to spend quite so much and will end up with a little more veg but I still don't expect it to be very moneysaving.

It depends how successful you are and how frugal you are in your planning - in my first year or two my food bill reduced by £100 a month in the summer! I grow excessive amounts and store and freeze plenty for the winter and definitely save LOTS of money but I am a vegetarian and have vegetarian pets so it's extremely money saving for me.

Mine costs about £65 ish for a year for a full plot in London.

bordercars

£30 for a 30ft by 80ft app.........byelaws state no shed or perm structure. includes water pumped up from the river for us.

i wouldnt mind paying £50 thats only a £ a week for your hobby and exercise with some free veg thrown in

nodwah

bordercars wrote: »

£30 for a 30ft by 80ft app.........byelaws state no shed or perm structure. includes water pumped up from the river for us.

i wouldnt mind paying £50 thats only a £ a week for your hobby and exercise with some free veg thrown in

That's a bit off no shed! Can you put a polytunnel on it?

Aberdeenplotter

julieewright wrote: »

hi fellow allotmenteers. nottingham city council has just informed us to expect a rent increase in 2012 that will quadruple our current rental. this seems excessive to me, but i have no idea what the average rent is across the uk. what are your allotment rents?

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.

lottiegirl

just returned from my allotment where there is a small notice informing of proposed rent increases. For residents of the borough they are proposing an increase per rod from £6.50 to £20 !! There is subsidising for pensioners and people on benefits. This means I will now be paying £200 for my plot. OUCH. Yes I do say it saves me going to the gym and I get a huge amount of enjoyment and good produce but I cannot understand this huge over inflation hike except I live in a borough that is hosting part of the olympics and wonder if that is the driving force behind our rent increases?