how are allotments funded

[green thing]

Hi grapes
Anyone Know how the allotment system is funded
the rents alone would not cover the running costs / wage bills of the administration etc
so councils must get some sort funding from central government ?

[bigt1888]

i reckon they would most probably be funded by the usual intake of council tax and be regarded as a legitimate expense, not all council services need to make a profit!

i'm sure thet the allotment manager has other tasks as well!

[jackie j]

I am a field manager and most people do this as a volenteer although expenses are paid. The rents should cover the rent paid to the land owner wether coucil or private as well as the cost of water if this is supplied.

[Two_Sheds]

Our rents more than cover our land rental - we have a fat profit sitting in the bank (not council run)

Council allotment officers wear more than one hat (when I was a council "complaints officer" I wore three hats - I was a PA to the education dept and also the RE section's secretary): some of them "do" allotments so infrequently that they don't know which plots are empty or even which plot they should be giving you when you get one

[JanieB]

Our allotments are totally funded by the rents. We have had to increase the rent from £11 to £15 for a full sized one last year and it's going up again to £25 this year. This is only because of the increase in the water rates.

I still think it's very good value for money.

We are also in the process of providing more allotments. Having earmarked a specific area we then had a major problem with access. There is pedestrian access but we had no means of getting a tractor in to prepare the plots and no access for emergency vehicles in case someone put a fork through their foot or had a heart attack!!!

This has now been resolved. We now have to find £30,000 to make it happen. We are applying to various funding groups for grants.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Local Authority owned Allotments are intended to be funded from rents with any necessary subsidy met from local taxation. That principle was established in the High Court case Harwood v Reigate and Banstead Council. In the judgement it is mentioned that 2p in the pound from the local taxation may be spent on allotments and so heavy subsidy is expected and intended.

[Alison]

the rents alone would not cover the running costs / wage bills of the administration etc

There's not really a lot to cover other than the rent of the land which the council already owns in our case. We have a small percentage of one of the council clerk's time and that's it. No running costs and a small amount of salary so don't see a problem. Obviously if a lot of work is being done on the plot eg fencing, shop whatever then that would have to be covered somehow but that's irrelevent here so I'd be very surprised if central government have any involvement.

[northepaul]

I was talking to a member of the local allotment assoc down here, and because of council cutbacks (ie the whole of the allotment budget has gone) the rents are increasing from £15 to over £100 next year!!
I guess its one way of clearing the waiting list!

[Suky]

Our site is privately owned, having been gifted by the landowner in 1919 to create allotments for men returning from the war. Our plots are £25/£15 full/half plot and we also have a healthy sum in the bank. There is no council involvement, thankfully.

[Hans Mum]

we're a self managed site with a lease from the council. 2/3rds of the rent we keep towards maintaining the site & 1/3rd is paid to the council. Under the terms of the lease council is responsible for fencing and we're responsible for everything else. We then have to charge for water, insurance. We raise money through grants (just got a composting toilet through that) and we hold a plant sale once a year which last year raised £750+

[green thing]

All the councils around ours have been accessing funding for new allotments
some of it has been coming via the NHS
our council seems to have very little interest in increasing the number of sites in the area
even when the money was on the table for the taking

the council outsource it's administration of the allotment to a private firm
we now have a dedicated person who deals with allotments
things seem to moving a little bit more than before
but their hands seem to be tied when it comes to changing policy

our council merged with another council in the 90's the allotment on one side of the borough are called allotment and seem to be better maintained larger plots with smaller rents

the other side of the borough has smaller plot little or no maintenance higher rent one month's notice and are called garden plots
the garden plot are often tenanted for life . the only requirement on the plot holder is to keep the plot tidy
as a result 95% of the plots are not being cultivated
but tenanted with the rent coming in this seem to suit the council

they have now stated to split any of the small garden plots that do become available due to the increase in demand for plots in the area
the plot are becoming so small they are no longer suitable for people who want to use the plots for there intended purpose growing veg

we have 100+on one sites waiting list
this shows there is a huge demand for more allotments in the area

[green thing]

(just got a composting toilet through that)

this was one of the first things we asked for but was told NO

then we asked if we could have a normal toilet and was told it would change the status of the site to allotment if we had running water

[Two_Sheds]

I don't see that toilets are a necessity at all. I'd be very annoyed if my site spent good money on a toilet. Men and women are able to pee in a bucket in the shed, and to pour that pee on the compost heap

If you don't need a pee or don't have a shed, there are usually pubs or shops nearby aren't there?

[Hans Mum]

I don't see that toilets are a necessity at all. I'd be very annoyed if my site spent good money on a toilet. Men and women are able to pee in a bucket in the shed, and to pour that pee on the compost heap

If you don't need a pee or don't have a shed, there are usually pubs or shops nearby aren't there?

nope we have no shops or pubs nearby (pubs have all shut down & shops are all takeaways!!!)

I use a bucket and will continue to do so but sometimes nature dicates you need a loo and then I have to go home Not everyone on our site has a shed and they have nowhere to go, we also have a lot of families and the little ones leave it too late for the parents to get them home once the cry of a 'I need a poo' has been uttered. Also useful when schools visit. So whilst it might be fine for individuals as a whole the site will benefit from it. & it was voted for by the majority.

[Aberdeenplotter]

I see two sides of the argument for toilets on allotments. It does involve an awful lot of outlay which is the real downside. Although I'm getting to be an old grumpy, it cheers me no end to see young families getting involved on allotments. Yes, the screaming, giggling, shouting and howling(crying) does rather take away from the solitude I enjoy so much but these kids are the future and getting them interested at an early age is really important.

Kids do need to go to the loo and local shops certainly aren't too happy to have muddy feet tramping through their pristine aisles and it is very difficult if there isn't a shed on the plot so a plot visit can be curtailed drastically if a kiddie has an "accident". I'm less than 5 mins by car from my plot so it isn't really an issue for me but it is an issue for others.