Allotments help

VeNT

Hi all

I was wondering if someone could give me some advice.
I've been looking into getting allotment for ages now and have been on the list for one locally for over 2 and a half years now.
I've contacted our local group and they say there are over 150 people waiting currently but they have been unable to find any additional land to purchase but that because they HAD looked they where not in breach of the regulations

it seems silly that just because they looked and decided against it that they can absolve themselves of the responsibility to provide allotments!

There are currently 75 allotments in my area, so would take everyone who HAS an allotment to leave it, then for everyone who then got one to leave as well!

I'm not sure what the best course of action is, there is plenty of fields/land around the town so I'm not sure why they have had issues.
when I emailed asking why none of it had been purchased for allotments etc the reply back was that none of it was "suitable" and would not elaborate further!

I'm really frustrated about this as it seems that they are just not interested in providing a service they are obliged to do!
the reason we've in this situation is because they have been lax with the planning requirements (huge developments created with no provision for allotments etc)

so, do you guys have any ideas if I can push this forward?

~VeNT

tod123

maybe you should try and form a group of like minded people to pressure the council to take action, it would have a higher chance of success than on your own.

You realise its the councils responsibility not the allotment groups?

write to your local councillor , tell him you are going to start a group and ask him to take an interest in helping/ see if he can do anything

look on this website

http://www.allotmoreallotments.org.uk/legislation.htm

• Do Councils have a statutory duty to provide allotments?
Yes. If the council believes that there is a demand for allotments; they have a statutory duty to provide a sufficient number of plots. Section 23 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908.

tod123

• My council says that it has no spare land for allotments, what can I do?
Your council can make an application for compulsory hiring under the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 if it has no spare land. See "Allotments - The Basics" from the NSALG.

Mrs_Domino

Where my sister lives there wasn't enough allotments so they approached a farmer who agreed to rent out one of his fields which he divided up. Once people realised they were available they all flocked to it.

Rent was cheap too!

Have you any local farmers you could approach who have a field which is not particularly productive for them but could be on a smaller scale?

VeNT

well we back onto a huge field so I'd bet there is a farmer who owns it!
I'll see if I can find out who to contact
would land registry be the best bet?

neney

Our council is now dividing all plots that come up into 2 half plots. It cut my waiting time down from an estimated 3-4 years to just 22 months. We are 6 weeks into it now, and half a plot is plenty for us!

VeNT

even so, with the rate of turnover we have here, it would be another 3-4 years before I got one
I think that this kind of wait is unacceptable!

gillian62

Our local Don't dump that site has a 'Potting Shed' catagory, and someone over the weekend offered 1/2 of her large back garden for veg patch in exchange for looking after her 1/2 of the garden. Why not try and put an advert on your local board, or another local community website?

oldtractor

I once rented a field off the council and it was very cheap. this was a few years ago but the systems the same. contact your local council and see if they own any fields. the field i had was next door to a school. i just rang the council asked if they owned it,they said yes and i asked if i could rent it. also the church [c of e] owns land they are worth contacting too. you could try an advert in the local shops also i find older people with large gardens will sometimes let others use their garden to grow veg and fruit especially if they get to have some of the produce. Good Luck.

Patchwork_Quilt

Often the Council has a budget of £2k to service the allotments for a whole city. They rely on Parish Councils overseeing them for free. It does mean there is no money for clearing new land, even if they can get hold of it.

Old Tractor was right to say that churches sometimes own land that can be used for allotments. Ours does. There are also lots of companies that are surrounded by swathes of lawn. I always think it's a pity. Do you work somewhere that can let you have a bit of land at the back for an allotment?

Good luck

ukbill69

We have had a meeting last night and seems, the thing that is the bug setting up things is legal fees. They organizers spoke to lots of other groups that have setup and they expect to see legal fees about 4-5k mark. But we are using the same solicitor so it will cut down the legal fees. Other things when choosing a site that has to be looked into and that's water and getting it to the site. If you are in country side, water connections are to and far between. I would ask around to find a plot, some farmers, have plots of land they cannot use or do not need to use, Put the word about. Get parish council involved. They have helped us a lot.

We first spoke about at end of Jan, the plot is being plowed this week and we have a chairlady and vice chairman. Its doesnt take a lot to get things going, when you have the support.