Prospective Tenant - Organisation for people with learning difficulties

[KevinM67]

It will be more hassle than a normal plot holder

Can you define 'normal' here ?

[Alison]

It will be more hassle than a normal plot holder and you will bear the brunt of the work.

Like others on this thread, this is the bit I don't understand. Why on earth should they be any more a hassle than any other group? I feel very strongly that allotments should be a shared space for everybody, whatever age, gender, background or, in this case, ability to learn. I'd find groups of young children potentially more hassle, not a group of adequately supervised adults.

[Alison]

Can you define 'normal' here ?

I suspect I'm not a normal plot holder being a girly type of working age who has a wildlife area on my plot .

[alldigging]

Can you define 'normal' here ?

A person who signs up as a solo plot holder and comes on to grow vegetables to feed their family.

Not a group.

[KevinM67]

i suspect i'm not a normal plot holder being a girly type of working age who has a wildlife area on my plot .

Burn The Witch !!!!

[Alison]

A person who signs up as a solo plot holder and comes on to grow vegetables to feed their family.

Not a group.

But why would that be more hassle? There will be more people working the plot therefore it's likely to be in a better state than one worked by a single person who can only spend a few hours a week on the site.

[bearded bloke]

Whoa, lets take a step backwards & a deep breath, then start again, maybe re-read ALL the post rather than picking out a single line & take it in context

[alldigging]

The easy answer is to ask the person who will be responsible for the group to apply in their own name for an allotment on your site.

Then they can do what they want with it (within the guidelines set out in your rules)

[KevinM67]

A person who signs up as a solo plot holder and comes on to grow vegetables to feed their family.

Not a group.

Would this then exclude any friends, partners and/or families wanting to take on a plot ?

And, are people with learning difficulties that may require support to work on a plot, not allowed the opportunity to grow their own and feed their family ?

[alldigging]

Would this then exclude any friends, partners and/or families wanting to take on a plot ?

And, are people with learning difficulties that may require support to work on a plot, not allowed the opportunity to grow their own and feed their family ?

An allotment tenancy is a tenancy. Allotments legally defined as an area used to grow food to feed the plot holder and their family.
It is probably easier if one person is the 'lead' tenant and is responsible for the other people and to ensure the plot is cultivated and rules are followed.

Some sites will not allow multiple keyholders on plots, or people from more than one address sharing a plot. There's a huge myriad of rules that vary from site to site.

We asked about having groups visit our site and if they come on regularly the insurance needs to know and there will probably be a small increase in premium. Insurance company sees it as additional risk.

The duty of care for site safety probably rests with the committee and ensuring that checks are made that the site is safe for all visitors is essential. Health and safety might suggest keeping written records of site inspections and or risk assessments.

OTT? Maybe but one of Oldham's allotments has had a claim on the main liability insurance due to a visitor to the site (not a plot holder) falling and breaking their leg in a couple of places.

When we had our separate insurance they wanted to know how many people were regularly tending plots. This meant the overall cost went up.

If someone needs extra support then this might need to be checked that the insurance covers them.

If the group joins as a group then in insurance terms I am sure they will find a reason to increase insurance costs.

There are lots of options available in Oldham for residents of all abilities and levels of interest. There are drop in sessions and community gardens and growing schemes in the borough. Sometimes an allotment might not be the right choice for supported gardening.

There are sites for instance that have raised beds, level solid paths, plenty of rest facilities as well as more varied growing spaces. There's one within a mile of so of here and another a couple of miles further away.
For some groups an allotment will be something they will have the time and bad weather enthusiasm for. For some groups it will not be useful to take on a big responsibility like an allotment.

[KevinM67]

Whoa, lets take a step backwards & a deep breath, then start again, maybe re-read ALL the post rather than picking out a single line & take it in context

I picked out the single line from the post - but, my intention was all about the 'context'.

'A normal single plotholder' - what does that mean ?

What about somebody with incontinence problems - do we knock them back due to the lack of toilet facilities ?
Do we ask 'normal single plotholders' to undertake mental health checks ?
Do we knock back older people in case they 'may' be suffering from dementia ?
Do we carry out reference checks (contacting other allotment associations) on all prospective plotholders to ensure they're not going to be any hassle ?

You know where I'm going with this

I don't want the thread to be heated - I want it to be discussed.
However, I will call out on any case of prejudice, discrimination and/or misconceptions or untruth.

[KevinM67]

There are lots of options available in Oldham for residents of all abilities and levels of interest. There are drop in sessions and community gardens and growing schemes in the borough. Sometimes an allotment might not be the right choice for supported gardening.

There are sites for instance that have raised beds, level solid paths, plenty of rest facilities as well as more varied growing spaces. There's one within a mile of so of here and another a couple of miles further away.
For some groups an allotment will be something they will have the time and bad weather enthusiasm for. For some groups it will not be useful to take on a big responsibility like an allotment.

Alldigging - I've cropped a large part of your post because I agree with you. Allotment Associations need to decide whether to accept 'organisations' as tenants because there are added complications. This goes for accepting the local scouts group/brownies or any other other organisation. There are insurance implications - but I've covered that in previous posts.

However, the part of your post I've kept which doesn't make sense.
We are talking about learning difficulties (what level of difficulty nobody knows ? )
What need for raised beds, level solid paths and rest facilities would someone with a learning disability really require ?

Edit to add - I've no idea what relevance bad weather or a 'big responsibility of an allotment' means.

[veggiechicken]

I'd like the OP to tell us more about the status of the allotment. All we know is
We are not a council owned allotment, we rent from a local farmer
Who knows what agreement they have with the farmer, what rules they have or insurance? It could be completely different to the standard rules that we are familiar with.
Just saying!!

[bearded bloke]

I picked out the single line from the post - but, my intention was all about the 'context'.

'A normal single plotholder' - what does that mean ?

No Kevin .. 'A normal single plotholder' is NOT what you quoted, single was not mentioned ... http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ml#post1415923

However, I will call out on any case of prejudice, discrimination and/or misconceptions or untruth.

like I said previously, re-read ALL the post

[KevinM67]

Yep, your right VC - sorry.