allotment taken away - conclusion (of sorts) post 668 onwards

[BrideXIII]

well let me tell u all something i think mr baxter has been telling you all lies here as i have 2 allotments on that same site that mr baxter lost his from he DIDNT have a whole load of crops on there hes had only cultivated about a quater of his plot that measures approx 25foot long by 13 feet wide and yes he did have weeds on there and no he didnt attend his plot on a regular basis like he makes out and nor can i understand why hes trying to screw the council for a new shed and crops as i know he didnt have that much planted on there he will not get a lot of support either from other allotment holders there as some are totally disgusted with the state he left the allotment in

how nice of you to join specifically to tell us all how stupid you think we are.
you are of course entitled to your opinion, but if you took the trouble to read this thread from post one, you will find:

1.at no point did tricky ask us for our help. we offered off our own backs.
2. at no point has he 'tried to screw' anything out of the council either, any compensation was suggested by others, not him.
3. noone claimed the plot was FULLY cultivated, Tricky was honest about the fact he hadn't been for a while .

THE POINT WAS ALWAYS THE COUNCILS UNDERHAND DEALING.

whilst I am sure that some of the plot holders there would agree with you, there are others that do not and support him.

welcome to the site, while you are here feel free to look around and learn a few things, we all do.

[lynda66]

wonders how wheatfields would feel if he/she turned up at their plot to find that someone else had been given it, and it had been ploughed up with no warning??

[maytreefrannie]

Sorry to hear you feel like that, Wheatfields, but the thing is, the Council did not give due notice, they moved in without any notification.

The current state of the allotment is due to that action on the part of the Council - they came and dug over the plot, thus anything that was growing was churned up and ruined; the allotment holder was not informed beforehand, was not given the usual notice and opportunity to reply and to show he was taking care of his allotment. Surely anyone is entitled to that and we'd wish to see that that consideration is shown.

It seems to me that IF the Council were totally correct in their stance, they would be far more outgoing - that is, they would come forward and answer the case that has been put to them by those who questioned their actions.

It's sad to see elected representatives ignoring the correct procedures and then ignoring their responsibility in the situation.

Good wishes.

[BrideXIII]

It is also rather insulting to join the forum just so you can cut and paste the same comment you left on the paper site.
doesn't say much for your argument really.

[pdblake]

It is also rather insulting to join the forum just so you can cut and paste the same comment you left on the paper site.
doesn't say much for your argument really.

I think people need to calm down a little here. You are all, after all, taking the word of one complete stranger over that of another complete stranger

I'm sure Wheatfields can prove that he is actually an allotmant holder there, and if he can, then he has seen Tricky's plot, which is more than anyone here has. Tricky on the other hand has one photo that was taken before these events, of an uncultivated strip of grass with no shed, crops, nothing at all. Now a photo of the plot just before it was ploughed over, full of crops and with brand new shed in situ, would certainly quieten his critics.

I also get the thing about procedure not being followed, but an admin error could be anything from an office junior forgetting to post his warning to the postman losing the thing. Also, don't different allotment sites have different rules, different councils for that matter? I don't have one, so correct me if I'm wrong.

Not trying to have a go at you Tricky, just pointing out how it looks from here.

Just trying to be a voice of reason here.

[kiwirach]

welcome Wheatfields....it is important to hear all sides of the story, thank you. however you seemed to have missed the point of our support.....the way the council has dealt with this issue....as has been said before!. we are all at the whim of the councils and anyone of us could turn up to find our plots turned over from 'some administrative error'!.

if Mr Baxter is not able to keep up with his plot, he should have been dealth with in the appropriate manner.....and if he is still struggling once he gets his plot back, he has the choice not to renew his subs, or the council will take the correct procedures(we hope!).

the council need to be held accountable for their actions, including giving this man his plot back.....then deal with it the correct way.

pdblake, i was a bit sceptical at the beginning....tricky was someone i hadnt come across on the forums before, so held off joining in, but once i realised the council was at fault, i was fully behind the cause.

[carlseawolf]

hi wheatfields,
the comments you have made about tricky may be true or not i just have to take them at face value as we do with every comment on this forum , and as said before tricky did not ask for help from the forum or help from the parent magazine who run this forum to put pressure on the council or any individual.

Allotment rules are drawn up so both party's know where they stand on the agreement to rent the land and what they can do with it . And whether they are a tennant of the council or allotment association the eviction policy should be followed to the letter of the rules.

Much has been said about the photos of trickys plot and how over grown it appears to be ( i must admit in my oppion it not that over grown ) and it was ploughed because it got so bad . I take it in this day and age of digital cameras and everyone taking everyone to court the council got there own set set of photos that have been witnessed by another plot holder from when the eviction notice went out so they can see i diffrence if any made to the plot before kicking this person off as this would have proven there case to everyone he was not keeping up with the plot and the notice was just.
I'm not fighting this on the grounds of an untidy plot but on the fact the council decided to skip afew rules to evict this person of the plot , and if i remember correctly there was another person on here who lives in scunthorpe and was rented someone elses plot and was shocked to find it was still rented by someone else , and that was sorted before we had to even think about doing anything.

And last but not least the council lied to the public saying he would get his plot back when they just put him at number 2 on a waiting list.

They may be hoping this just goes away but it won't as we will just wait untill it's council election time and then remind everyone about the lies and backhanded behavier so they get new councillors that will do the correct thing for there voting public.

[FionaH]

I received this today

After the recent further communication regarding the error’s that both Iand the Council excepts were made at Wheatfield Allotment Site I hope thisfurther communication will allay any continuing concerns individuals haveover the events. The repeated desire of most correspondents that the Council must return Mr.Baxter’s original allotment back to him would prove somewhat difficult asis had already been allocated to a local resident days before the articlefrom Mr. Baxter appeared in the local press, that person had already beganplanning his work on the site and it would seem somewhat bizarre to inflictany degree of discomfort on an innocent bystander in these unfortunateevents. We have a very long list resident requiring plots right across the breathof North Lincolnshire and sites are allocated, sometimes within hours ofthe plot becoming vacant. The reference to Mr. Baxter being placed only second on the list for areplacement plot is simple down to the fact that Mr. Baxter was not theonly person effected by these misjudgements by the council’s officers, oneother person had been in touch with the council prior to the press articleand was placed in front of Mr. Baxter simple on date order. There were in fact 9 individuals effected by the incorrect procedure andthe council has come to an amicable arrangement with everyone to date and Iam now of the understanding that Mr. Baxter is now on top of the list(18.11.08) and in conversation with the senior officer in the section hasexpressed his reluctant satisfaction with the proposed outcome, given thatthe council will be assisting in further measures with the eventualrelocation. Can I finally reiterate that chances in the operational system have alreadybeen instigated and it is hard to conceive of similar error occurring inthe future. It would be remiss of me under the circumstances not to make comment onthe press coverage on this particular matter, but it might be sufficientonly to say that articles written in this style and manner should be readwith a quantity of salt to hand. If further information is required please don’t hesitate to gat in touch.
Yours truly Cllr Len.K.FosterDeputy Leader North Lincolnshire CouncilCabinet Member N.E.S

I have to say the spelling and punctuation are dreadful! So according to this Tricky being on the waiting list, albeit at the top is acceptable to all? Whilst they mention changes in future procedure they imply that the reporting was dodgy? Astounding really.
Tricky have you heard anything about any of this?

[zazen999]

Just posted my response to this email on the website...sorry - couldn't resist!

[FionaH]

Just read your post at the paper. Teehee Still trying to formulate a reply to the email. Think I will go dig garden and see if inspiration flows

[MaureenHall]

I've had an identical email too. THEY DID THIS TO 9 PEOPLE! That is absolutely atrocious.

[FionaH]

The two people at the top of the list are the ones who complained? So the other seven get trampled underfoot because they don't make enough noise? Beggars belief really.

Off to dig something cos I am so cross right now!

[kiwirach]

bl**dy h*ll......9 people.....i'm gobsmacked!.

btw, i've had nothing back from the Editor of the paper.

[FionaH]

I just left another post at the paper quoting the councillor

[Kayt]

I've had an identical email too. THEY DID THIS TO 9 PEOPLE! That is absolutely atrocious.

Why am I not surprised? I've felt all along there was more to the council's incompetence by the way they were keeping fairly quiet considering all the publicity this has received. What's worrying me is I'm job hunting at the moment and have applied for one at our local council, does this mean I could become as incompetent?