Gross Mismanagement of Allotments*

[flynch]

To be honest some councils don't want to fill their plots they want the plots empty so they can lie say it isn't being used and sell the land to developers. Happened to many of the youth clubs as well. My mother use to run one for years, massive building and grounds, always packed. Then the council started inferring more and more, they started demanding 'set activities' and all other things be completely removed or they'd shut it down for non-compliance they activities included finger painting and other equal ridiculous tasks no teenager would be interested in. The club attendance dropped. Then they forced closed for 'lack' of interest now it's a flat block. How many allotments have councils already sold.

[Cadalot]

Flynch - Having worked within the council I have seen just how underhand they can be, and that is why I'm willing to make a song and dance about it, and try to form an independent Site Reps Association. Alans Allotment: LBS Site Rep Assoc.

Last night I spent some time researching the committees and councillors on the web site and have made a complaint with all the supporting facts and documents to a number of selected members of the Environment and Neighbourhood Committee who are due to meet in November. I have also copied in the NAS and the Local Newspaper.

[Jungle Jane]

Is there anything you can do to fill the places on the allotment,so it's full of people & crops or are they purposefully not filling it,can you get the allotment packed out with people? Newspaper article photos would be good showing how productive it is in these hard times of rising food prices,there'd be a good argument your side. The councils under pressure to supply housing,do they pass allotment land onto these companies as a way of getting more money,the amount of money they can get from housing & tax would be more than from having allotments they probably think.

[Cadalot]

Is there anything you can do to fill the places on the allotment, so it's full of people & crops or are they purposefully not filling it.

That what I'm trying to arrange and my belief is that their lack of action will be beneficial for them in being able to sell off allotments for development.

[KevinM67]

Sorry Cad - what is the background here ?

Have the Council outsourced their 'Allotments service' to a private company (Idverde) ?

[Cadalot]

Sorry Cad - what is the background here ?
Have the Council outsourced their 'Allotments service' to a private company (Idverde) ?

Not in the background, the Council have alienated the existing site reps many who have given up because they would not support site reps when undertaking the yearly inspections, and they have outsourced the Allotment management to Idverde under a 24 year framework in 8 year chunks.

Idverde until pushed have been unresponsive and have not actually been managing anything they have not informed the people on the waiting lists that plots are available. Look at the figures and you will see the are 138 people from the waiting list who could of had a plot already. Council suggested teething problems I suggested both the Council and Idverde visit a dentist and stop sitting on their hands with their thumbs erected where the sun does not shine and do the job they have been employed to do, but in a nice polite kind of way

[Rosemary7391]

I'm a bit late to the party on this one, although I suppose it's still ongoing... but I make that 6% of plots unoccupied. That doesn't seem like enough to claim there is no interest and sell them off? It's almost inevitable that at any one point some will be unoccupied. This might even be the prime time of year for it with folks giving up as the days draw in! I've got no idea of the background to this though...

Might it be worth pushing to find out what their procedure is to reallocate plots - then you can check if it's being followed and highlight precisely where the problem is occurring if it isn't?

[Cadalot]

Hi Rosemary

The figures are based before the end of year renewals so there will be more plots vacant, as a result as people not renewing.

We were informed that we had no one on our sites waiting list, this was a lie !

We were informed that if we had no one on the waiting list the council would not issue a notice to quit following the site inspections and an improvement notice, as the would rather have a paid for plot going to weed and producing seeds than a vacant plot going to weed and producing seeds!

One is not allowed to cut weeds on another's plot that are 4 ft and going to seed to stop the weed seeds from spreading, if it has a tenant even if that tenant is not visiting or doing anything. I asked and that's what I was told.

A number of Site Reps gave up the post as they felt they were not being supported by the Local Authority. I'm bloody minded so my reaction was to fight and improve the situation. I asked for information under the freedom of information act.

There is a process to manage the waiting lists and in theory as long as there are people that want to grow they should be able to have a plot and there should not be vacant plots when there are more people on the waiting list than the number of vacant plots available. Clearly this is not happening as one can see from the figures I have produced off the records supplied to me. Thus Mismanagement or no management of the in place system has taken place.

138 vacant plots where there are greater than that number on the overall waiting list in the borough is clearly not acceptable at the end of the renting season when those plots should have been in the hand of people that have been patiently waiting and have been at the top of the lists and could have had a plot in some cases a year or more ago.

Idverde are now mismanaging the invoicing system, they have emailed the invoices to people that have provided email, stated that they have sent out paper invoices to those that have not provided email address. I have been informed by all the tenants I have seen on my allotment that none of them have received a paper invoice. We are being informed by other Reps that they have significant numbers who also have not received paper invoices.

Nothing in writing was ever sent by the council to the tenants to inform them that Idverde were taking over the Management. Some of those receiving bills via email thought them a scam and a means of obtaining their bank information.

I have worked with Idverde in producing some notices that have been distributed to the other site reps that I am in contact with, However I have no Idea if Idverde have bothered to place these notices on the sites that currently have no Site Reps and obviously with no key to other sites can't check.

I requested that this problem be reviewed at a council meeting last night and hopefully will get an answer as to allegation of mismanagement.

Making progress with this is like pushing a car up a hill with the hand break on with the wind in your face and it's raining, but I will not give in. Idverde have another week until they can provide updated waiting lists as they believe that their list were not up to date and perhaps some people on them had been provided the opportunity to view and have not been removed!

Myself and my neighbouring Site Rep were informed we had no one on out lists, I had 5 and he had 11
I have filled two plots and I have someone coming to look at a large plot and if they feel it's too much will divide the plot into two smaller plots, as I still have people on the waiting list. My Neighbouring Site Rep has 4 vacant plots as some people have not renewed, I will offer any vacant plot that remains on my site to people on his list if I run out of people on my waiting list.

That's an example of managing the Councils asset correctly and providing resources to people in the borough that want to grow their own food.

I'll get off me soapbox now!

[Rosemary7391]

I've tried a few times to respond to this, but I'm really not sure how! It sounds like a huge mess. I hope that you get some positive improvements soon ...