Extortionate plot rents............

[mrgrower]

That is an extortionate price for land rent especially as it is a massive jump.

Well I already have my flat cap when do I start offering up my wife to the lord of the manor?

Seriously though I think there is a point there about feeding yourself and family cheaply It seems like a continuing trend to remove peoples abilities to feed themselves or at least force people into giving up their land and eat cheep GMO or processed cancer causing rubbish.

The thing is if you lay down and take it they will walk all over you and then railroad onto the next and the next just wondering when the train will be arriving at my station? Welcome to the 21st century soviet state of Europe where Codex Alimentarius rules....

Ahhhh no conspiracy theories shooo shooo

[Snadger]

Think (but not sure) the rent on our site went up about £5 per acre , we have about 19 acres ..but we've been able not to put rents up this year. Some councils seem to be looking at lottie sites as an easy way for them to swell the coffers . Robbin' B@$%@&^$.....

Our rent charges are + 3% for inflation. Our PLI (Public Liability Insurance) is based on 250 square metres X 31 @ £2.00 = £62.00.

Soooooooooooooooo IS IT just the North East of England thats getting a battering with allotment rent then, using government cuts as an excuse?

[Aberdeenplotter]

Robbin' B@$%@&^$.....

saying it as it is. I like that

[VirginVegGrower]

I guess it is more a case of earning some fast revenue rather than cutting waiting lists. Folks want allotments so demand drives up price and helps greedy councils in these times of cost cutting. All about the profit and loss of running a business.

[spanish_gardener]

I paid the same, just over £100 for a 18ftx24ft plot. I doubt they can rise the prices like that. Are you going to organice a meeting with all the people that have been affected?

[SarzWix]

Our rent review isn't until next year, but we're fully expecting a fight over it. The council would quite like our land... :\

[zazen999]

Snadge - what's the context of these rises?

Is it that they have paid £5 for years and it's gone up to £12.50 or is it £50 that's gone up to £125?

If the prices haven't risen when all the other council services have, and it's just catching up it's a different story to just raising the prices indiscriminately.

[Snadger]

Snadge - what's the context of these rises?

Is it that they have paid £5 for years and it's gone up to £12.50 or is it £50 that's gone up to £125?

If the prices haven't risen when all the other council services have, and it's just catching up it's a different story to just raising the prices indiscriminately.

Its £50 thats went up to £125!
Government restrictions has meant that councils have had to sell off Libraries,swimming pools etc and have drastically reduced the workforce.They have had to sell council run plant nurseries that have been around sice the early 1900's. Bedding schemes are no longer financially viable so they have gone to be replaced with grass or concrete (easily manageable) Allotments aren't percieved as a nescessity like emptying bins for instance (which they have also cut by half, as well) so they have been hit.
Waiting lists have dwindled for allotments as the 'GYO' fad of a few years ago has lost its impetus..

I personally don't think our allotment Association will exist after next year as we only have one person on the waiting list and I reckon half the existing plot holders will chuck it once the new rents are announced, so it couldn't be financially solvent.
I will go back to doing what I used to do, that is, find someone with a big garden who can't manage it and take over a restricted cultivation for them. As has been mentioned, I'll need to dig out me auld cap so I can doff it when the Lord of the Manor comes around!

I don't blame the Council, especially when jobs are on the line, so the only lot I can blame are the government for lowering living standards and returning us to the dark ages.

[Thelma Sanders]

That's horrible - but blame it on the Bankers who caused the crash in the first place - the whole ruddy world seems to be in a financial crisis, and no government (not just ours) seems to have an answer that doesn't hurt

[alldigging]

Self-management might be the answer. Although I think our council's costs after s/m will be the same as before so no cost saving other than no liability to do repairs/pay water bills etc. Which might make it managable. Oldham's lease process is several years old.

You need to take this to the councillors locally and ask for help.

Does The National Allotment Society – National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Ltd have any policy/help?

[Snadger]

That's horrible - but blame it on the Bankers who caused the crash in the first place - the whole ruddy world seems to be in a financial crisis, and no government (not just ours) seems to have an answer that doesn't hurt

I didn't mean this to become a political post, just wondered if this was a nationwide problem?

[Snadger]

Self-management might be the answer. Although I think our council's costs after s/m will be the same as before so no cost saving other than no liability to do repairs/pay water bills etc. Which might make it managable. Oldham's lease process is several years old.

You need to take this to the councillors locally and ask for help.

Does The National Allotment Society – National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Ltd have any policy/help?

We are self managed. NSALG are heavily involved anyway. Allotmenteering appears to be viewed as a luxury and as such, luxuries are the first to be chopped.

[Aberdeenplotter]

in Scotland, the law for local authority owned allotments specifically says the rent has to be the fair rent for the use of the land for the purpose i.e for production of food so a local authority has to justify it's rent increases.

In my Court Action (now put off till 23rd April) The Sheriff has already said a local authority cannot just pluck a figure out of the air and call it a fair rent. Our Council proposed either £40 or £50 for the new rent and had a note on it's budget agenda saying benchmarking information to be obtained. i.e. they did not have any rent comparables available. Briefing notes had been produced to Councillors before the budget meeting but there had been no such briefing notes re allotments (confirmed by FOI request.

Minutes showed they voted for £50 but no record of discussion or debate. Very pleasing I could demonstrate these things from papers lodged in Court by the Council's Solicitor.

I had also lodged details of rents for private allotments within half a mile of our site where a full plot rent is even now only £24 for a full sized plot.

Getting back to your situation Snadge, the English law(section 10(1)of the Allotments Act 1950) says Land let by a council under the Allotments Acts, 1908 to 1931, for use as an allotment shall be let at such rent as a tenant may reasonably be expected to pay for the land if let for such use on the terms (other than terms as to rent) on which it is in fact let:

Provided that land may be let by a council as aforesaid to a person at a less rent if the council are satisfied that there exist special circumstances affecting that person which render it proper for them to let the land to him at a less rent.


Clear as mud and equally unhelpful.

[VirginVegGrower]

I didn't mean this to become a political post, just wondered if this was a nationwide problem?

Ours are in a corner next to the graveyard, which when it is full, will need our allotments as overspill. It's at this point that the PC will take them back and give us all notice to quit. Our rents have not increased this year but neither has our council tax.

[Samurailord]

The rents on our allotment are due for ratifying at our AGM tomorrow night.

Based on the preliminary figures that have been circulated we should see a reduction in all cases, my rent last year for 214 sq m was £80, this year it looks like it may be around £60.

This covers rent, association membership (plus one associate member) but the only water available is from three IBC's sited at the gates. (not a problem as even though my plot is furthest from the gates I am only about 100m away)

We also get access to several freebies - mainly loads of bark chippings dropped off by the local council.

We have offered a 50% reduction in rent to all pensioners on site, but most seem to be determined to pay the full price!

Last year's figure did include an amount to build up a fund in case there were additional legal costs involved in going self managed, but even then I though it was very reasonable.

Andy