Allotments- unfair system!

[brocksmith]

Just wondering if anyone has had the same problem as me: I have been wanting an allotment for years, and I realise that in some areas people are having to wait a long time to get one- however, In Brackley,Northants it seems that there is several people either with more than one plot, or that they have had it for 20 years +. Don't get me wrong, I would certainly want to hold on to my allotment (if I had one!) but It seems that being on a list does not guarantee you your rightful turn ( I am also aware that they are being handed to friends and family first, without going through the council) I think that with "growing your own" becoming more of a necessity rather than just a hobby, I feel strongly that someone needs to look at the current system. ( My council informed me that it had been discussed, but that is as far as I got!)

Suzie.

[Snadger]

Our Council along with NSALG are clamping down on this and are asking for an up to date waiting list for the plots to make sure everything is done above board! We have just had a plot become available today at our site and after contacting the next person on our wating list of six will have a deffinitive answer tomorrow whether he wants the plot or not. If not will go to the next person on the list and so on!
We also have to supply the details of plotholders to the Council and NSALG insurance requires an up to date members list also. An area rep will be present at the AGM to make sure the rules are followed to the letter!

It's taken a while, but we're getting there!

[PAULW]

BROCKSMITH
You say " I have been wanting an allotment for years,"
have you thought it would be a good idea to have one or have you been on a list for these years, I have had an allotment for five years when I applied for one I had a choice of about six plots, all of a sudden it has become fashionable to grow your own there are hundreds of people clammering for a plot, this topic has been discussed before and as Snadger will confirm many of the people with multiple plots are the people that took them when no one else was interested to prevent the councils from closing allotments and selling them off because of the lack of interest, and after all the arty farty " I've got a lotty" crew have gone and followed the next trend the old timers wil still be there

[MrsC]

I understand your frustration I have had my name down on the waiting list here for ages and there is a small group of allotments 2 mins walk from me, as I can see only 1 of the 12 is being used. I have spoken to the relevant dept and they said they would look into it but people with these allotments do as they please. Not fair. I have however been offered one outside of my town but there are issues with it I'm not sure about.

[brocksmith]

I have had my name down for several years- I appreciate there was probably a time when there were plots sitting empty,but now demand has gone mad, there must be a fairer way to share what there is! ( I am an RHS student, so it would really help with the studies!)

[brocksmith]

I was also asked by my council if I would consider looking in another area, but then you have to decide how far you would be willing to travel, petrol costs etc. Happy hunting- I have a very small garden, so I am not able to grow much at home, but I suppose you have to consider that some people don't even have that!

[bluemoon]

Sorry, I don't understand your point about people having a plot for 20+ years. Are you suggesting that there be a time limit and that a tenancy should only last for a set number of years? If so then perhaps you should consider how you would feel if you spent months clearing a plot, years keeping it fertile and weed free and several hundred pounds on tools, fruit bushes, sheds and greenhouses, only to be told that your time was up. As for people having more than one plot, until recently allotments were highly UNpopular and sites were under threat from developers. Many people who have multiple plots took the extras on in order to keep their site viable. If it were not for these people there probably wouldn't be a site still in existence to have a waiting list for. Do you expect them to now hand those plots over - along with said fruit bushes, greenhouses and the like - to someone who has contributed nothing to it and who may not keep it for longer than a few months? Yes, allotments are currently fashionable, but for every three people who are currently offered a plot one of them pays just half a dozen visits there and is then never seen again. And there is doubt in many long-term allotmenteers minds about what the situation will be five years from now when the fashion has moved on to something else. Will we once again be clearing plots that have been allowed to become derelict? That would be terrible, but if these were plots that had once belonged to keen plot holders who had had their allotments taken away simply because their time was up, then it would be a tragedy. Personally I don't think the situation will become as bad as it was a couple of years ago when you couldn't even give a plot away, but I can see a time when those who are doing it because it's this years in-thing will have drifted off to whatever else has become the new must-do activity and pressure for plots will ease.
I can understand the frustrations of someone who desperately wants to grow their own, but kicking established tenants with well maintained plots off is not the way to do it and would probably be detrimental, after all would you put in all the time, effort and money if you knew that you'd soon be handing it over? I know I wouldn't. Perhaps you could suggest to your council that they make more frequent inspections and that they move quickly when a plot has obviously become abandoned as at present it can take 2 - 3 years from a tenant's last visit until his plot is offered to someone else, during which time the land grows terribly out of hand. There are rules about the maintenance of allotments and anyone who fails to keep to these rules should be quickly given their marching orders. I wish you luck in your search for a plot and hope your wait is short, but please don't do it at the expense of a dedicated allotmenteer, I can't think of anything more counter-productive to the allotments movement as a whole.

[brocksmith]

I wouldn't dream of suggesting that established allotment holders be kicked off- perhaps I should have worded this better- I am just trying to illustrate my frustration, but perhaps holders with several plots could consider giving one up- it is really difficult, as I am obviously looking at this from the perspective of an allotment seeker rather than an allotment owner. I think that local councils should be looking at finding more land to satisfy current demand. For me, this is certainly not just a fashionable thing, or some thing that I would be bored with in 5 minutes, and I think there will continue to be more and more people who genuinely just want to grow their own veg.

[Alison]

If somebody has had 2 or 3 plots for some years but keeps them basically productive then there is not reason why they should be expected to give any of them up. However, if they can't manage all of it then it seems wasteful when somebody else would be very grateful for the chance.

[bluemoon]

I agree, Brocksmith. Councils should definitely be taking their responsibilities re allotments more seriously, but I suppose many of them don't want to commit resources until they see which way the wind is blowing. Personally I think that many (probably most) people on waiting lists are genuine and are looking forward to a lifetime of veg growing, but there are some for whom it is the in-thing and, until a person is offered a plot, there is no way of knowing how that person will react. Either they will work hard and make a fabulous job of it, or they'll run away the first time they clear a patch and the weeds have the audacity to grow back. Many people with more than one plot would probably happily hand one over to one of the former, but it must be so depressing to hand it over to one of the latter and have to watch as it goes to ruin. What is needed is a system which quickly targets abandoned plots and returns them to the council for re-letting. You might be surprised to learn that it is very common for a plot-holder to have a dog-in-a-manger attitude and continue to pay rent on a plot which has 8ft high brambles and which they haven't visited for years because they "might do a bit next year".
Finally, when I read back what I had written earlier I realized that I came across as quite aggressive, this was unintentional, and I do apologise.
I hope you soon have that plot. Best wishes BM.

[BrideXIII]

I wonder , do you think people with more than one plot could somehow be encouraged to 'unofficially' lend a bit of space to people who wanted to try it out? whilst they were waiting for a plot of there own , so that sitting plotholders could be reassured that incomers are serious, and newcomers could try it out to see whether they really will keep it up?

[PAULW]

BRIDE
'unofficially' lend a bit of space to people who wanted to try it out
We have on our site a few of the arty farty gardeners who have installed raised beds and bark paths which mean they are only using half the plot, maybe if we got them to go back to the old fashion strip method they could let someone have a bit of their plot.

[BrideXIII]

well i suppose if they pay the rent etc etc, seems a bit of a waste of space, raised beds have a purpose, but bark paths? whats wrong with a bit of scaffolding board!

[Hans Mum]

this is a thorny one.....a few years ago our site resorted to advertising for tenants as we were close to being shut down which resulted in a few more plots being taken on, now its 'trendy' to have a plot we have a waiting list of 13, as has been said above its frustrating when people take on a plot and lose interest after a few weeks cause "its not as easy as it looks on the telly!!!!!" Good luck with your search maybe you could offer to help out at your local site, there may be someone who's struggling to cope with a plot because of illness or age who would be grateful for some help - at least its better than nothing

[Snadger]

BRIDE
'unofficially' lend a bit of space to people who wanted to try it out
We have on our site a few of the arty farty gardeners who have installed raised beds and bark paths which mean they are only using half the plot, maybe if we got them to go back to the old fashion strip method they could let someone have a bit of their plot.

Whoaaaa!!.................... I have raised beds and chipping covered paths in between. I installed these long before they became fashionable and my plot is more productive than most of the 'trad' plots on the site!
Just remember the beds and paths and Potager scenario were developed by the Elizabethans and Victorians who new a thing or three about gardening!

I will defend the bed and path system to the hilt!