Help with Poultry/Allotment law please?

[SarzWix]

Hi guys, hoping you can help

There's a lady on our site who keeps chickens, but she is the only one allowed to (as she has kept chickens there for over 30 years), the Rules state 'No new livestock' etc. Now, for various reasons, the committee are telling said lady that their allowing her to keep her chickens when no-one else is, is like some kind of favour, and she's getting quite upset, being under the impression that they aren't going to allow her to replace any of the current ones when/if they die, which is what she usually does.
Now, I'm of the understanding that their restriction on keeping chicken is in fact unlawful, due to Section 12 of the Allotments Act 1950.

However comma....

Having just read said Act, and the information given on the NSALG website relating to that section, it refers throughout to 'allotments provided by councils'. And ours aren't, technically. The land is owned by the council, but it has recently been either given, or leased (not sure which) to the Parish Council, whom our Allotment Association then pays rent to. So, does this law still apply? Or can they argue that it only applies to statutory allotments, which ours aren't?

I thought I had read somewhere that this applies to any land which you 'use as though it is your own', but I can't find it anywhere now


Any pointers gratefully received as this lady has recently lost her husband and is teetering on the brink a bit at the moment.

[Hans Mum]

You need to get hold of a copy of the lease there will be one somewhere, ours states the following:-

5.27 Not keep upon the Land any bees, pigs, fowl or other livestock unless permitted by Section 12 of the Allotments Act 1950 and allowed by to do so in writing by the Council

We have bees on our site but not livestock but thats only because there is a very strong fox presence, LCC does allow it

[Aberdeenplotter]

Try this website. I think you can contact them for advice. The Poultry Guide - Hens on Allotments in the UK.

[SarzWix]

I looked at that AP and the first thing it says is "[...]all council-owned allotments", but I'm still unclear as to whether ours are covered by that.

Hans Mum - what does it mean in yours by "unless permitted by Section 12..."? When does Section 12 NOT over-ride the council?

[Snadger]

She has chickens that are 30 years old?

It sounds to me like she has been given special dispensation ........for life and shouldn't really worry.
Has she got anything in writing? although in English law a verbal agreement is supposed to be binding?

Our site is allowed chooks, but our neighbours bigger site about a mile away, aren't for some reason? (both council) I don't think anyone has ever tried contesting this ruling though!

I even know of sites where ONLY chooks are allowed, no gardening!

[lottielady]

We have recently allowed the keeping of chickens on our site and we are an association who pay the local council a rent for the site, we took the view that the Allotments Act overid everything as it is law and that it was a tenants right to keep them if they so wished but what we do insist upon by any chicken keepers is that they sign other paperwork relating to DEFRAs guidelines for keeping poultry and we also ask that any dispatching is not carried out on site. We also state that they must provide water but not from the troughs used for watering plants. Whether our assumption is correct or not I am not sure but we used the NSALG website. We only have five people that keep them and so far have not had any issues.

[polo]

Just found this. It clearly states that current keepers og hens can do so until the end of the keepers tenancy - not the hens 'tenancy' I would say that means you can replace stock.

http://www.skiptontowncouncil.gov.uk...Allotments.pdf

What is a Parish Council?

A Parish Council is the most local branch of Local Government and usually represents just one town or locality. It can call itself a Town Council if it represents an urban area but its power are the same. (They are civil authorities and have nothing to do with the Church.)

Unlike District Councils, which are set up to have populations of about 100,000 each and are formed by patching communities together until the numbers match, a Parish Council is whatever size is right to cover its community. The smallest has population of fewer than 100, the largest in the region of 60,000 and what they do differs widely, according to the character and needs of their parishes.

Areas without parish councils lack the basic building blocks of democratic local government. They do not have a council which speaks for them alone without having to consider the demands of the area.

Parish Councils are local Government just the same as a council. They will be subject to the same rules. From what I can see, the council can refuse to allow you to keep poultry if there is a by-law about this in your area. If not, they cannot refuse although you must not allow your hens to become a nuisance, health hazard and keep them in good conditions etc. If I was this lady I would be confident to keep my hens if
a, I knew there were no bylaws. (check the local councils planning department.
b, She keeps a copy of the publication stating any existing hen keepers can carry on until the end of their lease.

Hope this helps

Polo

[Suechooks]

There's a thread about this on PoultryChat forum. They took legal advice.

[Hans Mum]

I looked at that AP and the first thing it says is "[...]all council-owned allotments", but I'm still unclear as to whether ours are covered by that.

Hans Mum - what does it mean in yours by "unless permitted by Section 12..."? When does Section 12 NOT over-ride the council?

that was my argument when the lease was issued, but LCC insisted in keeping it in, they do allow chucks on sites but its never been an issue on our site because of the foxes. They just want people to check first was the consensus

[Aberdeenplotter]

I looked at that AP and the first thing it says is "[...]all council-owned allotments", but I'm still unclear as to whether ours are covered by that.

Hans Mum - what does it mean in yours by "unless permitted by Section 12..."? When does Section 12 NOT over-ride the council?

Sarz, best thing would be to contact the people who run that website, I'm sure they will have the answers for you.

[julesapple]

As Snadge says, the lady can't have thirty year old chooks, so she must have been replacing them. Would the council notice if she continued to do so? I don't suppose they'd know one chicken from another. Having said that, if the lady is teetering, she might not feel up to subterfuge.

Jules

[paula.berriman]

SarzWix

I may be your guardian angel!

I had a HUGE battle on my hands convincing the 'greys' of the Parish Council that it is A STATUTORY RIGHT TO BE ABLE TO KEEP HENS AND RABBITS ON YOUR ALLOTMENT.

I spent a whole month convincing the Parish and eventually it paid off. To put my arguement into perspective i am a plot holder in one of the 3 allotment sites in our village and it just so happens that our site has been branded as horticulture only. The other two sites keep poultry of any kind and one site even has pigeon sheds! After reading an article in GYO about the keeping of chickens i discovered section 12. After reviewing my tennancy agreement (standard NSALG) i began my arguement. I must admit i needed to do my research and a little knowledge of common law helped but its all there in the allotments act.

Im now just trying to get my coop and XL run constructed so i can rescue some battery hens and give them a new life.

With reference to the lady who keeps chickens; she can continue keeping them and replenshing them as she feels necessary. There is nothing anyone can do about it because Government statute overides any other law (even by-laws in my understanding). You must remember that this only applies to hens and rabbits mind. Any cockerels, ducks, turkeys etc are not protected.

If someone wanted to make a case for the lady to get rid of the chickens they would need to PROVE that they are causing nusance.

Hope that helps. If you want to Private Message me with a phone number or email address ill be happy to talk with you further.

[radioactive]

One things for certain I would love to have access to her compost heap all that poultry manure yum yum!!

[chris]

I'm bagging my extra stuff up radioactive - my two daleks are FULL !

Planning to take it down to the local allotments and offer it to the folks there rather than just bin it.

[Flummery]

I'm bagging my extra stuff up radioactive - my two daleks are FULL !

Planning to take it down to the local allotments and offer it to the folks there rather than just bin it.

My neighbours are glad of the overflow. Surprising what passes for currency in a village!