Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Welcome => Welcome to the Forums => Topic started by: mrpscamp on February 20, 2020, 12:23

Title: Hello From Hampshire!¬ :)
Post by: mrpscamp on February 20, 2020, 12:23

Hello everyone,

I dont have an allotment at the moment just a small veg patch in the garden,

But i do have questions LOL 
Since October a group of us have been trying to get the town council to give us some land to set up a site, we have found a patch (enough room for 15 plots) but we seem to be going around in circles with the town council as the land we have want belongs to the Borough council and no one from the town council seems to want to ask the Borough council if we can use it.

We know this piece of land is not going to be built on  and will just be left as landscaped

Has anyone got any experience of getting a town council to build more allotments?
it also dont help the whole town council got voted out in May last year so everyone on the council is new and they are all fighting each other whilst us residents look on

Thanks   

Title: Re: Hello From Hampshire!¬ :)
Post by: New shoot on February 20, 2020, 13:15

I don't have any experience that would help you, but welcome and I hope some advice comes along shortly   :)

Title: Re: Hello From Hampshire!¬ :)
Post by: Yorkie on February 20, 2020, 18:24

Welcome to the site.

Your starting point is section 23 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908, which essentially says that if the council (whichever one it is) is of the opinion that there is a demand for allotments in its area, it shall provide a sufficient number of them.  The duty to consider this is triggered by a representation in writing to the council from 6 registered parliamentary electors or council tax payers that there is a demand for allotments.

So you first need to get organised and get at least six of you to write to the council of the geographical area in which you live.  By citing the relevant legislation, then at least it shows them you mean business.

If there already are allotments in the area and they don't have a waiting list, you may be onto a hiding to nothing.  Even if there aren't, then you still may not be successful as councils have historically been reluctant to take action.

Title: Re: Hello From Hampshire!¬ :)
Post by: Echium on December 07, 2020, 16:52

Just in case you are still seeking your allotment from the CC, our suggestion is to do what we did in a similar situation also in Hampshire. Go out and find a friendly farmer. Farmers do not like funny shape fields as the are expensive to work. They are often keen to fence them off and keep the tractors going in a straight line. I'm new to this site so not sure if I can contact you another way?