Notice to Quit

[muckdiva]

Received a letter yesterday morning informing me that the land my lotty is on will be put up for sale in October 2010. The land is owned by a charity and the reasons for selling are a bit complex, but basically it's because having less than a dozen tenants, allotment rents don't cover the insurance costs.

I for one would be happy to pay more rent to cover the shortfall, but I get the impression the charity want to sell anyway (maybe I'm being cynical).

I knew the land was under threat orginally - one of the reasons I took on the lotty in the first place - to help swell numbers a bit. It's still a shock to get the letter though. My bit of ground was just starting to look good at the end of its third season so feeling a bit sad today.

[ginger ninger]

So sorry to hear that muckdiva, is there no way the rest of the people on your allotment's could put too and buy the land?....Just a thought.

[Jeanied]

So sorry to hear your news, Muckdiva - but you've got 12 months to get plan B together! How is you local authority at providing sites?

[Snadger]

Sorry to here your bad news muckdiva. Are there many allotments in the neighbourhood and have you got your name down on the waiting lists......if not WHY not.
Hopefully most of whatever you've added to the allotment (apart from the time and sense of pride) can be uprooted and shifted to a new site?

Still its a hell of an upheaval after three years of getting the plot the way you wanted it.
Good luck in sourcing another plot!

[RedThorn]

words fail.... sorry

[muckdiva]

Thanks guys. The allotments are in a very small village, and less than a dozen are in use. It is a fair bit of land though - in the 1950s apparently there were over 50 plots, which now leaves quite an acreage uncultivated. I've written to the charity with some suggestions on alternative cash raising ideas (pony paddocks, community orchard etc etc), but I think the charity's hands are somewhat tied in that I believe the land can only be let to village residents. I expect things will become clearer in time.

Having been a bit down about the prospect of the work involved in re-locating my plot, I happened to watch the programme on tv last night about the wartime bombing of Coventry. It did rather put things in perspective....

[Pumpkin Becki]

What about trying to raise the profile of the allotments in your local community, maybe not many people realise the allotments are even there (that's certainly true with our village). In this day and age of 'Grow Your Own'ness, maybe you and some others could form a committee, put up posters and hand out leaflets, write something for the parish magazine, approach your local garden society about your plight. Then when you've raised support, approach the council and see if they will buy the land for you so you can have Council run allotments. Or see if the village can buy it for itself. What is clear is that you need more people to make these ideas viable. Its going to take some hard work, but I'm sure you can do it, and at least you've been given a decent notice period in which to take action.

Good luck Muckdiva

[Storming Norman]

Will a letter to the local paper get printed?

In my lottie there was 6 tenants a year back, then someone wrote to the local paper asking why there was a 2 year waiting list when so many plots were vacant and overgrown. Guess what it's just about all let now with still more people added to the list each week. We put it down to laziness at the council.

I bet there is a way of getting to see the charities rules and aims from the charity commissioners - you might find they can't shift it if fully tenanted.

Best of luck,

[Plot17B]

Your local council (district and parish) have legal rights which you may be able to use. They are obliged under the law to consider providing allotments if 6 or more lobby for new allotments. Now, what is the regional waiting list like? if there is a long list and you can justify opening up your allotment to people from outside your own village, then the demand becomes a useful argument to ask the parish council to use their compulsory hire/purchase rights.

If they are being lobbied by yourself for new allotment space, it's a lot easier to them to initiate a compulsory hire (which could lead to compulsory purchase) than to go and find and acquire and prepare new land for new allotments. But you do need to get that demand sorted out.

Get to your parish council and the press and start kicking a stink.