Allotment Management Programme for the Year - Comments Please

[Cadalot]

I'm looking for comments on the programme of works that I believe the Management Company for our allotments in the borough should be undertaking.

Is the period for site inspections reasonable?

Would you start any earlier?

We only get one bite of the cherry for inspections

At the meeting in Oct they discussed us trying to spread out the inspections because at the moment whoever they get to replace the Administrator will only be working from 9am - 2pm, and they have said that they can not handle it!

I want to use this chart at a meeting next week to demonstrate to them what the Admin Person has to do because they obviously don't understand. That they have to get the invoices out for the renewal date if 1st Oct because everything hinges on that re filling vacant plots in time for new plot holders to be able to clear enough to get ready for the start of the growing season.

I also want to demonstrate that they need to increase the hours of the person working on this for 36 Allotments in the Borough

They are still chasing invoices and the waiting list has grown from 138 people that have not been contacted to be inform them there is not a plot waiting for them to 178 due to natural wastage due to people not paying their rent for the following year.

[Bill Door]

Hi Cadalot

I am not sure I understand the relationship between "you" (whether it be just one person or many) and the management company. Also what is the relationship between the management company and the "owner" of the allotments. Assuming that you are a tenant then I think you can only make suggestions as to how the management company operate. If the management company fail then you have to fall back on the tenancy agreement to put things "right".

However, if you have been asked by the "owner" or management company to assist then maybe it is a different matter. But again I would say that you must refer to the tenancy agreement to see what is specified in there and what is enforceable.

Bill

[Cadalot]

Hi Bill

I'm a tenant and Site Rep last year the local Authority handed over the contract to a Management Company, I asked for copies of the contract documents to look for KPI's and Service Level Agreements and there are none, in fact for two years or negotiation the documentation is about as useful as a push bike is to a goldfish.

I've managed to get in touch with the other site reps that still want to take on that role from the 36 Allotments and we have managed to recruit a number of new ones, we now have a means of communicating via a closed Facebook Group and email Distribution List

We have a meeting between the Site Reps, Council and Management Company on Monday and we need to work together to improve things as there was 181 plot empty in the borough in October and there are now 247 plots empty which equates to a lose in Revenue of £9,618 for the council and there are 178 people that have been on waiting lists for over a year and the management company have only let 24 plots in the last four months since I managed to call and emergency meeting!

The programme is based upon the milestones within the Allotment Gardening Guide that forms part of the contract with the council. What didn't happen was Site Inspections and No Cultivation letters and notices to Quit last year because of lack of resources by the Management Company.

The Council never informed all the tenants about the Management Company, when the Management company decided to email invoices without obaining agreement with plot holders who have always received paper copies, many thought it was a scam. They are still chasing non payments at the moment as they were a month late sending out the invoices.

Their Allotment support person leaves Today and we have a meeting Monday, so the aim is to educate them what they should be doing and when to make the magic happen and hopefully also prove they need a full time person and not a part time person to manage the allotment stock and provide the level of service as expected within the agreement documents between the council and tenants.

There contract is for 24 years renewable in 8 year chucks!

[Snoop Puss]

Hi Cadalot,

I have to say that if I were to have a site inspection late May, it wouldn't look like much was going on. Some beds would have plants in, but most of my allotment would be bare or given over to green manure. And depending on how wet the spring was, some would still be in an unprepared state.

If I've understood your schedule correctly, it looks like the bulk of the work is crammed into a ten or eleven-week period, with not a huge amount going on the rest of the year. Is it feasible for the employee to get round all the inspections and reinspections and report-writing in that period? I have no idea how long a site inspection lasts, especially taking into account travel time to and from the office.

[chris_m]

Just curious as to why you have "Invites to View Plots" down as one entry for Jan to Dec, plus a second for Jan-Mar and Jul-Sep.
Surely the second entry is already covered by the first?

[Nicos]

Does the 'complaints following notice' include time to go to actually go the site with person to see more clearly what has happened?
Seeing the site/person is always more preferable to communicating through letters...although I can see if could potentially feel more hostile ....

[Cadalot]

Hi Cadalot,

I have to say that if I were to have a site inspection late May, it wouldn't look like much was going on. Some beds would have plants in, but most of my allotment would be bare or given over to green manure. And depending on how wet the spring was, some would still be in an unprepared state

Snoops bearing in mind that there is a Bank Holiday weekend in March and the First Week and Last week of May there should be activity on the plots and clearance being undertaken. Keen allotment holders would have placed manure on their plots over the winter months

If I've understood your schedule correctly, it looks like the bulk of the work is crammed into a ten or eleven-week period, with not a huge amount going on the rest of the year. Is it feasible for the employee to get round all the inspections and reinspections and report-writing in that period? I have no idea how long a site inspection lasts, especially taking into account travel time to and from the office.

The Site Reps and Committees if formed undertake the actual inspections and re- inspections that's why I did them in a different colour and they can be done from the late May Bank Holiday through June with a couple of week float into July. The Management Company can then look at the photos and scoring sheets and send the No Cultivation Letters

28 days later the Re inspections take place. The Management company has to get this out of the way as they have to start generating and sending out the invoices before the due date of the 1st October.

[Cadalot]

Just curious as to why you have "Invites to View Plots" down as one entry for Jan to Dec, plus a second for Jan-Mar and Jul-Sep.
Surely the second entry is already covered by the first?

Chris - I'm trying to show that it's an ongoing task all year but it peaks and more time is needs to be allocated and spent by the Allotment Admin person after notice to Quits and Non Payments of Rents when more plots become available.

[Thelma Sanders]

there are now 247 plots empty which equates to a lose in Revenue of £9,618 for the council

This in itself should make the Council itself apply some pressure to the management company.
Presumably they passed management over thinking it would save them money - if it isn't doing so then the council could cancel the contract. I doubt the possibility of a fulltime person but they'll need help/many extra hours during the busy periods. Our council allotment person is full time but does Funeral bookings, cemetaries, and parks and verges, as well.

[veggiechicken]

I'm with Chris on that - 2 rows saying the same thing is confusing.
The different colours need a key.

[Cadalot]

Does the 'complaints following notice' include time to go to actually go the site with person to see more clearly what has happened?
Seeing the site/person is always more preferable to communicating through letters...although I can see if could potentially feel more hostile ....

Hi Nicos

That's time for the Management Company have to deal with any complaint made by persons receiving the Notice to Quit or Termination Notices - If they have the photos and scoring sheet at inspection and photos at 28 days after that's then that is the bulk of the evidence on which they have made their decision

To make everything transparent I have scribed Guidance for those undertaking the inspections and plot holders on our ASRA Web Site https://lbs-site-rep-assoc.blogspot....spections.html

[Cadalot]

I'm with Chris on that - 2 rows saying the same thing is confusing.
The different colours need a key.

I agree I will add a Key and will alter the description to the second line to "increase in Vacant Plots" which means more arranging of plots required.

[Cadalot]

This in itself should make the Council itself apply some pressure to the management company.
Presumably they passed management over thinking it would save them money - if it isn't doing so then the council could cancel the contract. I doubt the possibility of a fulltime person but they'll need help/many extra hours during the busy periods. Our council allotment person is full time but does Funeral bookings, cemetaries, and parks and verges, as well.

As an ex Council employee who survived CCT and Best Value and our numbers decreased to the point where we could no longer supply a service, I luckily got head hunted by an external consulting engineering company who then won the work I was doing and got paid many times my salary to provide the same service!

Everyone knows that they have to take the lowest tender which in my experience never give the best quality of service.

Allotments are wrapped up with cemeteries, and parks and verges in the outsourcing but without KPI's and service levels built within the contract document how do they measure the failure to comply and provide an adequate service and get out of a 24 year contract renewable in 8 year chunks?

[4Shoes]

Fix the duplicate July - you have a 13 month year

[Cadalot]

Fix the duplicate July - you have a 13 month year

Thanks for the heads up, that's what comes of doing these things at 4 in the morning because you can't sleep All suggested modifications made below