Allotment evictions - what's the policy at your allotments?

[Noosner]

After years of 'anything goes' at our lotties, the parish council are toughening up their act. Lots of folk have had letters about the state of their plot and now the council have actually evicted someone - a character known as 'Steptoe' because most of his plot was junk. Folks were encouraged to help themselves to anything they wanted and I took a couple of placcy dustbins for water. But it was quite sad as most of the stuff (e.g. bundles of wooden compost bin slats) was rotting. He obviously hoarded stuff but never got round to using it.

I'm glad the council are taking action because we have 200 people on the waiting list but it has made me wonder about other lottie sites. What are the rules on your site and has anyone ever been evicted? (hopefully not you)

[sparrow100]

We have 2 inspections per year, and if people aren't keeping on top of things someone on the Committee will discuss the issues with them and reach some agreed actions and a timeline for change. The formal letters come if that doesn't work, and then a notice to quit. It can take some time, but we'd rather offer people a chance to turn it round. Having said that there were evictions last year and the year before, but hardly any.

[alldigging]

We have a new policy to follow that the council will support us on.
1 letter giving 2 weeks to improve, a second giving another 7 days and then a letter saying you have 7 days to clear what you want and hand the key back.

Inspections are monthly during the growing season.

[Noosner]

Thanks, sparrow and alldigging, sounds like you have very different policies in terms of time allowed to sort things out. Alldigging, if someone is ill or in some other way struggling, are they given any leeway?

[noviceveggrower]

As far as I know we haven't got any. Never seen anyone checking.
The previous allotment site I was at they were strict. You could have fruit, veg and flowers but there was a ratio to what you could grow. There was a lady there with raised beds. Her husband had died the previous year and due to her medical problems she only planted easy to maintain veg and flowers. Someone worked out that her ratio of flowers to veg was wrong and they threatened to evict her.
Then the other side of the fence there was a guy who basically used his area as a dump site for his building rubble. No one bothered him at all.

[muddled]

wow alldigging!

I don't think I would take an allotment under those conditions! I'd be looking over my shoulder the whole time instead of enjoying my hobby.

Our council do a couple of inspections a year....if they get around to it.
Which they mostly don't.
They send someone with zero knowledge of vegetable growing who criticises plots that don't look like a 'dig for victory' poster.
Then the snotty letters arrive....generally to the wrong people. My friend got one for 'too many flowers amongst the vegetables' another friend got one for 'weed membrane visible'. The really neglected plots heard nothing.
Oh! you can be evicted for using a hosepipe though....apparently.
And that's it for a year or three....no follow up. None of the newly vacated plots offered to new tenants. No-one (not even lottie sec) informed what plots are now available for at least two years.

It's all a bit of a farce really.

[frantic furball]

Ours tend to have a walk around twice a year and if there's no evidence of the allotment being used the secretary writes a letter asking if they still want the allotment, need any help, would like to have a smaller plot etc. If there is no reply they will get a "weedy" plot letter and a timescale to show that work is being done. If they ignore this we will send a letter giving them a month to respond, then another giving them a month to respond or clear there stuff off the plot, after that the committee clear the plot and hold any tools etc in storage for 3 weeks so they can pick them up and eventually we will re-let the plot. Hasn't got that far though usually people get in touch think we have evicted 2 in the past few years. I think the process would be quicker if we had a large waiting list though.

[Alison]

The parish council inspect ours every year - think they're due in the next week or so but have never seen them. I think that they send out letters asking for an improvement but have never had one. I have no problem with this in theory but do have a problem with the reasons that some people are given. Have heard of people on other plots being basically told how to grow ie criticised for raised beds or flowers for pollinating when the plot was very productive etc or that their shed was the wrong colour. Totally missing the point.

[donksey]

I have noticed quite a variation in tidiness of allotment sites.
Some do look a bloody eyesore with unweeded beds and vast areas of rotting carpet strewn over them (must leach into the soil), and various other 'useful one day' rubbish scattered about.
Then others like the one next to a house I worked on in Knaphill near Woking that almost looks like a stately home vegetable garden. Even the wide pathways between plots are better any lawn than I've ever had.
I have to say I would rather a bit of regimented growing than an untidy free for all anything goes allotment.

[Floyd]

Here in Sheffield the Council takes a rather unique stance.

Many plots are unoccupied and vandalised, so these are left unsecured in an effort to actively encourage the popular pastime of flytipping. This policy appears to have been a resounding success judging by the amount of crap being dumped!
The rules on percentage of plot being used for growing have also been expanded to allow for the growth of pigeon lofts nestling amongst stunning backdrops reminiscent of Jurassic Park. Many on my site have some prizewinning crops of docks and brambles.
My application to take on the empty plot next to mine has been in for 3 months now without so much as an acknowledgement. I can only assume the officials are spending most of their 3 day working week visiting these sites to admire the post armageddonlike beauty and are therefore far to busy to respond, although they do seem rather keen on having my £112 for a half plot in on time!

[alldigging]

Thanks, sparrow and alldigging, sounds like you have very different policies in terms of time allowed to sort things out. Alldigging, if someone is ill or in some other way struggling, are they given any leeway?

Yes if you have reasons for not coming then we'll give you more time to sort things out - and be kinder on inspections.

Bear in mind that regular site inspections help us spot anything dangerous that needs urgently sorting out too - to keep the site safe for all visitors.

They're also nice for people to take the time to look at what other people have done too.

If we had one inspection a year then the site perhaps would be overrun with weeds and rubbish like many others seem to be with long festering waiting lists of unhappy people.

[WendyC]

The secretary and I (chair) have a wander around about once a month. Some we keep an eye on, others have a gentle email or phone call to see if anything is up. Sometimes this helps people to make up their minds to relinquish the plot. A few times it has got to eviction, but the Parish Councils as landlords deal with that. No requirements of what to grow. There are a few plot holders who frustrate me as they do just do enough to keep it under control but don't really cultivate it.

[Greenleaves]

We have bi-monthly inspections by site reps from different sites in the borough. Plots have to be 60% cultivated, although no definition of cultivated. 28 days improvement noticed issued and if not improved significantly then notice given.

The reps rarely inforce this but are very hot on some of the other rules:

No carpet as weed suppression
No livestock (chickens were allowed but one person neglected theirs)
No tyres
Fences must be erected between plots ( but what constitutes a fence is never answered)
No more than 20% of the plot to be taken up by buildings including polytunnels
Burning only allowed Feb and Nov

[Noosner]

How interesting! Allotment rules obviously vary a lot.

It's a bit rough if people are getting sent letters for things like having too many flowers, muddled and Alison.

A lot of the plots here in Ilkley would fall foul if our rules were stricter. One lady has nothing but flowers and lots of folk use tyres and carpet (including me). People have livestock too - pigs, chickens, geese, goats. But we are in quite a rural setting, which probably makes a difference.

When we first got our plot we were told nothing could be erected on it bigger than 4' x 6'. We obediently put up our little shed. But our next door neighbour erected a whacking great polytunnel, must be about 10' x 16' and nobody said a thing. There is also a rule about not planting tall trees but one of my plum trees (supposed to be a bush) has shot up to about 15'.

All of this makes me think that at our lotties, as long as your plot looks half decent, you don't get challenged.

Popped down to lottie this afto, actually, and was delighted to see that the plot on the other side of mine, that has stood empty for 5 years, has finally been taken - someone had obviously been hard at work on it over the weekend.

So the council obviously are putting some work in on management. Long may it continue.

[noviceveggrower]

Think our problem, if you want to call it that, is that the committee on our site has very few members on it. They let everyone know the AGM is on but no one goes. I missed it last year with my dad being ill. So its the same people trying to keep a check on the plots, sorting the plots out for new people, working and looking after their own plots.
Think if we had a full committee they could be stricter.