Legal Help - who can have an allotment?

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Girly HR Gardener

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Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« on: May 02, 2018, 09:22 »
Hi all, I'm sorry if I'm putting this in the wrong place but while I come on and read all your comments I haven't posted before (except to say hi when I first joined!)

So, to my question...

I am one of the site representatives on my allotment site and I've just been told that the Council have implemented a 1 household rule for allotments.  Now, I have 2 plots on our site - as do many others, a lot of tenants have their names down on the list (and we have a very short waiting list - less than 20 at the moment) waiting for a specific plot next to their own to come free.  This used to always happen under the old site rep but was never discussed.  We made the mistake of telling the Council that people were doing that and this was the reason why we might juggle the list a little bit.  They have taken umbrage to this and now implemented a rule that says only one allotment can be let per household. 

I think this is grossly unfair and doesn't take into account the fact that some of these tenants have had their names on the list for over a year, passing other plots over to other people on the list in order that they may be given a plot they would like.  It also doesn't take into account that whilst people may live in the same house they might not be partners i.e. we have 1 tenant who is a student and house shares but when I asked about that they said that therefore nobody else in the house would be able to have a plot because he has one - that just seems ridiculous to me!

I've had a look at the allotment act, hoping that it would give some guidance on who is entitled to an allotment but either I'm looking at the wrong thing or it's silent on the matter.  I was always under the impression that anyone could put their name down and get a plot without restriction.

Can anyone please help me because I'm now faced with telling the people who passed over plots that they can't now have one when I was only given one at the end of last year and that's really not going to be a fun conversation!!  :(
Thanks

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madcat

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #1 on: May 02, 2018, 10:42 »
Are you members of the National Allotment Society?  https://www.nsalg.org.uk  They can be very helpful when there are problems between landlord (which is what the council are) and tenants.
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Girly HR Gardener

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2018, 11:15 »
Unfortunately not, we looked at it but the cost was more than the committee could afford at the time, we're only quite small still  ??? and I think that's why the Council think they can just do what they please.  It makes me so cross

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mumofstig

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2018, 11:31 »
Many Councils do have the one plot per household rule - not just yours, typically saying
Quote
In areas/times of high demand, the Council has the right to only allocate one plot per household.

Ours seems to be working on 1 address 1 plot but if there isn't anyone on the waiting list for a particular site then they will allow an existing tenant to have a 2nd plot, as long as the first is well cultivated, but this is increasingly rare nowadays because of high demand.

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upert

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2018, 12:43 »
I had two plots once, two and a half really. I had to give one up as it was too much and I'm there every day.

It seems only fair to distribute plots equitably. That said there are those that take on a plot and you hardly ever see them yet they never get evicted even though their plot is uncultivated.

Our council has made the plots smaller and more than quadrupled the cost in the last few years. We still have vacant plots that are overgrown or waterlogged and people don't want them.

NSALG may help yet the council is king. You could put the plot in someone else's name if you really have to have two. People put it in their parents name to get the OAP discount.

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Aunt Sally

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2018, 13:28 »
Our Parish council has a 1 half plot per household rule.
When it was introduced a few years ago  anyone who already had 2 half plots per household were allowed to keep them. 

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snowdrops

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2018, 14:01 »
Our Parish council has a 1 half plot per household rule.
When it was introduced a few years ago  anyone who already had 2 half plots per household were allowed to keep them.

Yes ours did the same after some folks made ructions at the council, we all got new tenancy agreements & a list of rules, the rules were almost non existent before.

I think to answer the original ? It might be wise to ask the council to arrange a meeting to discuss the changes with all the plot holders so they can break the bad news. I can see plot holders point about letting other plots go, but it’s not very fair on newbies to perhaps get the worst plots on the site.
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Girly HR Gardener

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2018, 15:06 »
Quote
it’s not very fair on newbies to perhaps get the worst plots on the site.

Interestingly it's often the worst plots that people want because they're next door to their own and they're sick of trying to manage with an uncultivated plot next to theirs.  We've never had a situation where newbies are being given the rubbish while existing tenants are picking the cream of the crop.  The big thing for me is that our list is tiny - you rarely have to wait more than 3 months for a plot on our site and yet my tenants who have waited for plots next to theirs for up to a year, while the council get their fingers out to evict the badly cultivated plots, are now losing out.

It seems like the allotment act doesn't legislate for who can have a plot though, although I've found that the fact that councils introduce something doesn't necessarily mean that it's legal (our council tried to say we couldn't keep chickens on site until I pointed out that they would be breaking the law!) which is why I wanted to check.

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jaydig

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #8 on: May 02, 2018, 15:32 »
I would say that one plot per household is not an unfair way of doing things, but if there is more than one genuine household per address, then that needs to be looked at.  I think all councils are very lax about moving out tenants that don't bother with their plots, and in the name of fairness this also needs to be dealt with, particularly when there is a waiting list.  Obviously, this change of heart needs to be ongoing, and not applied retrospectively.

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sunshineband

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #9 on: May 02, 2018, 16:46 »
Our council blows hot and cold when it comes to letting out vacant plots, and for years we had a long waiting list but plots which were either vacant or poorly worked.
Recently they have taken the tack that if there is no waiting list (which is now the case for our site) then if an existing tenant want a second plot, especially if is it adjoining their current one, then that is fine; better than leaving the ground to grow weeds and become a liability.

It would seem logical that in areas with high demand, vacant plots should go to people of the waiting list when their name reaches the top, and if the council introduces a new policy that it is only one plot (or half plot) per household that plot holders who have more than one, and work them well, should keep them, and the new policy apply to tenants from the date it is implemented.

As Snowy said, a meeting with the council seems the way forward, but make sure that you have a clear idea of how ideally you would want to move forward in affair and reasonable manner. Please let us know how you get on
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Aidy

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #10 on: May 02, 2018, 16:49 »
Our tenancy (self managed not councl) is also 1 plot, however before we went self managed and allotments were not trendy most of our site was going to the dogs so the council at the time allowed multiple plots providing they were kept tidy.
If you have two plots under the old council ruling you can keep them under the new and not forced to give one up, we have just had a one off as one plot was in such a state no new tenant wanted it, a plot holder asked if they could take it on and this was allowed. We are also splittng full plots when they become vacant, such is the size of our waiting list.
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Pilly57

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #11 on: June 25, 2023, 05:29 »
How would you feel if you couldn't get a plot because someone decided they should have two while you have none?

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Goosegirl

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #12 on: June 25, 2023, 09:00 »
It's a difficult one because I agree with Philly as everyone should have a fair allocation as long as they tend their plots well, but any vacant plots that aren't as "attractive" should be offered to those who already have one so at least every plot is being well maintained.
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New shoot

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #13 on: June 25, 2023, 09:19 »
I’m not sure why a thread from 2018 has been resurrected in this way, but there is huge demand for allotments and a lot of councils are going the one plot per household rule.

My local council has recently adopted this rule, but can’t enforce it retrospectively. They have cleaned up their waiting list to remove households who are already plot holders and it has halved most of them for our local sites.

Existing plot holders do have priority to move, so if you have a small plot and want more space, you can ask to move and go straight to the top of the waiting list, assuming you have kept your old plot in order. They are also moving people down onto smaller plots if they are struggling and ask to have less ground.

As long as it is done fairly and everyone has the same rules applied to them, I can’t see much of an issue with this.

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snowdrops

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Re: Legal Help - who can have an allotment?
« Reply #14 on: June 25, 2023, 10:43 »
I agree with you News, but our Parish Council have asked if people who have more than 1 plot would give 1 up, even though we have a good few that aren’t tended, which I find rather cheeky. But going back to Phillys post, I think if someone decides they’d like a plot & it reads like you feel that people with more than 1 plot should be made to give 1 up to allow you a plot,no I don’t think that is right. Depends who decided ‘they should have 2’ really I suppose. For Committee run sites there is sometimes a bit of nepotism going on or so I’ve read.



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