Battle on allotment rent increase - The result

[Peter]

Slow down, take a deep breath and consider the following.

Virtually every council provided allotment is run at a loss to the council.

Water metered at commercial rates, fencing, officer time, postage, etc.

My council is reopening a lapsed site, £8000 for a gravel entrance with car park, £6000 for fencing, £2000 for a new pair of gates, £3000 to kill clear plough layout, unknown to me to get six troughs fit and connect to mains, so loads of £, yes?

All for forty by five rod plots, rented out at £3 per rod, total income £600 per year.

It lapsed when allotments were unfashionable and all the old boys were consolidated onto the neighbouring site across the road and there it sat for over twenty years. Thank god it did, land here is millions per acre for building.

The concrete six foot fence posts were as good as the day they went in, the wire wasn't. They couldn't afford the gravel, so have spent ten years rental income on the fence, three and a half on the gate, five on getting it cultivatable, need I go on.

Yes it costs you a bit more but it could be put up the rents or sack another employee.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Slow down, take a deep breath and consider the following.

Virtually every council provided allotment is run at a loss to the council.

Yes it costs you a bit more but it could be put up the rents or sack another employee.

The problem with taking a deep breath when trying to negotiate with councils is that you would expire before exhaling in the time it takes them to accept their legal responsibilities.

If you read the transcript of the judgement in the Harwood v Reigate and Banstead Council case, you will see that the judge concluded that not only was it lawful for local authorities to subsidise allotments but that they are expected to subsidise them heavily.

Allotment holders should not have to accept being victimised or discriminated against, particularily because even in this day and age, some of the less well off in society rely on the produce from their allotments as a very important contribution to their household budgets. So if general rates for recreational facilities are being increased by say 10% increase plot rents by no more than the same percentage. That is what is at issue here when increases of 200% are being mooted in some areas.

No-one expects to get their allotment free but neither do we expect to pay through the nose because our councils now suddenly find themselves short of funds through no fault of ours.

[ConfusedRhubarb]

Hi Peter
Thanks for your interest, and I really do appreciate the cost argument, I was made redundant by the neighbouring council at new year as part of their cost savings.
You say you are paying £3 per rod. We are already paying £6.70 per rod (2 1/2 times national average, and if we slow down, we will end up paying £20 per rod from April (8 times national average).
I expect that everyone on here knows very well that allotments have so many benefits to the people who use them, the local community, savings to social and health services, plus the environmental benefits both locally and globally. But although all these things are much vaunted priorities of our local council, no other users of council services who are being asked to pay a 200% increase. I've gone through their 200+ page budget proposals.
Plus our site is self managed too - so we do all the work - councils costs are very low indeed.

[ConfusedRhubarb]

There is a great article about allotment rent increases in the Sunday Times today. p22 of the home section.

[Aberdeenplotter]

There is a great article about allotment rent increases in the Sunday Times today. p22 of the home section.

Must find someone who takes the Sunday Times.

[Aberdeenplotter]

Barnet Labour councillor to dispute allotment rent hikes (From Times Series)

That the article?

Copy of the Harwood case sent to Councillor Farrier

[ConfusedRhubarb]

Nope- thats a local paper for N London -
the article i meant is p22 of Home section.
Sadly you have to pay to view it online.
I could scan and upload it - is that possible?

[Aberdeenplotter]

If you can scan it into a document and send it to me as an attachment to an email, that would be grand. I know I can do that with my superduper printer so hopefully you can too. email address sent by pm

[ConfusedRhubarb]

More publicity for the allotment holders in Greenwich about the rent increase.
The meeting with the Council was mentioned in the local paper today - and they used a picture of us putting up our windmill.
MERCURY TODAY | NEWS | Allotment rents may rise by 200 per cent | 2011
If any other Greenwich allotment holders want to get in touch please PM me.

[ConfusedRhubarb]

Our other local paper has taken up the story now

Consultation begins on Greenwich allotment rent increases (From News Shopper)

[Aberdeenplotter]

Best thing to do now is to write to that newspaper and congratulate them on their excellent article about allotment rents. Then tell them about the Harwood case and how it is unlawful as a result to increase your rents by more than the increases being applied to users of other Council owned recreational facilities. Much easier to get something published off the back of something they have already printed.

[ConfusedRhubarb]

Good idea Aberdeenplotter.
If anyone else with an allotment in Greenwich feels the same as me perhaps they could write letters to the Mercury and the Newshopper too. Surely the powers that be would take more notice if more people are making their views public.

[Aberdeenplotter]

I've been in dispute with our council for over two years now and believe me, I've tried every which way to get the local press to publish. In the main unless you say things like Council is breaking the law, or virtually declare war on the Council, the media is not interested. They want headlines that sell newspapers.

However, they are extremely open to flattery, hence my suggestion to strike now after their recent article.

[ConfusedRhubarb]

lol
good news is i've found some other Greenwich allotment holders on another forum. I don't think the council will be very pleased if we are all able to get in touch with one another.

[bafmeuk]

Hi,

We successfully made Bolton Council re-think their decision to massively increase allotment rents (70% - 100% extra).

In the end, they settled for just 3%.

I wrote to all the councillors, council officers, chief executive etc.

The one thing that made them all sit up and take notice was my official complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO).

My complaint was "premature" as I had not allowed the Council ample time to deal with the issue, however the LGO did forward my complaint to the Chief Executive of Bolton Council.

Within 24 hours, I had received a letter from him and the complaint was officially logged.

I then got a resonse from the Chief Executive which I didn't agree with so I appealed.

The next stage after appeal is that the Ombudsman gets involved, so, Bolton Council reversed their decision.

The LGO cannot make a council change it's decision but it can make a council re-assess the way the decision was made and Bolton Council have always aquiesed to the Ombudsmans decision.

You can find the story at Bolton Allotment Forum, Waiting Lists, How do I get an Allotment in Bolton, Rent Increase

I have now been provided with a better copy of Harwood v Reigate & Banstead Borough Council which I hope to upload next week.

I have to say that NSALG Ltd were NOT helpful in this case and my Society have now joined the Nation Allotment Council as a result.

Hope this helps you all in your fight.

If your council is raising swimming admissions, or squash etc. by 200% pa then of course you haven't a case, but the reality is that most councils use RPI to determine increases and are very happy to discriminate against allotment holders who are sitting on millions of pounds worth of prime building land.

Also, don't let the Councils run down your site by not letting out plots.

There is a case on the LGO site where a Council did not let out plots, then when only a few plots were in use, they applied to the Secretary of State to have the allotments closed and built upon.

They can be VERY devious.