Allotment despots

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Hampshire Hog

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #15 on: August 17, 2021, 09:10 »
Thanks grinling I’m waiting at present to see whether I get any further comments about my plot. The clerk is merely the messenger but has promised to advise me what the inspection team were bothered about. To date I have heard nothing further from her so I think I am on solid ground until/unless she clarifies specifically what needs to be done. Certainly they couldn’t do anything dire to me without at least responding to my request for more specific guidance! The key thing that wound me up was the very non specific nature of the email I received coupled with previous assurances that inspections were cancelled due to COVID. I limited my visits to the plot earlier this year and prioritised planting over tidiness. There was no evidence of the council taking actions to ensure safety on the allotments eg no warnings by the communal water butts about hand washing or gloves, nor about opening the gate. I didn't intend to get ill just so my plot could look like Kew Gardens. HH
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Pimento

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #16 on: August 31, 2021, 20:42 »
So… The saga continues, unfortunately. Please can anyone tell me, definitively, what powers a council has as site owner/landlord where the self-managed leaseholders are behaving like thugs?

Surely the council still has a duty of care to tenants who are being bullied, harassed and evicted without any reasonable grounds?

The police are involved now but the management committee is ignoring their warnings that they are breaking the law, and the council says it sympathises but that ‘its hands are tied’. I don’t believe there’s nothing they can do. The local allotment federation is offering to mediate but it seems the power-crazed  chair and secretary aren’t interested.

I’ve been targeted for calling out their bullying and other bad practices, including  giving plots to friends over people on the waiting list.  They’re a horrendous shower.  Any info very welcome.
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Goosegirl

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #17 on: September 01, 2021, 13:58 »
I like it that the police are involved and that they've been notified they're breaking the law. It would be informative if the council expanded on their comment about their hands being tied. Have you tried your local MP as that might be worth a go, or even at a push tell the local newspaper.
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Pimento

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #18 on: September 01, 2021, 16:21 »
Thanks, Goosegirl. The police were a red herring, unfortunately. I spoke to two other police officers today who denied they could help.

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Goosegirl

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #19 on: September 02, 2021, 15:03 »
Well, give them a go as you've nothing to lose. We've got to stand up to these types of people and hopefully show them off for what they are.

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New shoot

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #20 on: September 02, 2021, 20:50 »
I don’t know if this will help Pim, but this is the document given to us by our council when they were trying to get sites to take more responsibility for themselves.



image.png

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Pimento

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #21 on: September 02, 2021, 21:01 »
Thanks so much, New Shoot - definitely some food for thought there. I think a next step may be to ask the council to see their leasehold agreement with the site and what standards it sets out, and also find out who the trustees are - there’s never been any mention of them.

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Goosegirl

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #22 on: September 03, 2021, 13:45 »
Good one Pimento.

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Pimento

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #23 on: September 06, 2021, 19:31 »
Sorry, all, to bump this up again, but I’m still trying to find out what a council’s legal responsibilities are  where a site is self-managed, but the council remains the land owner and landlord.

As tenants have to obey both the site ‘s own rules and the local council’s statutory rules, that would suggest to me the council have the power -  and, indeed, the obligation - to act if the latter are being broken?

Thw council’s rules state that causing a nuisance to other plot holders is an offence serious enough to merit a notice to quit.

Since I’ve been bullied, harassed and verbally abused to the point of seeking medical help and calling the police, I would have thought this constituted a ‘nuisance’.  My eviction  - for calling out bullying and other bad practices - is totally bogus;  I’ve provided factual evidence to the council that committee members are kying.

Surely they have a duty of care to act?

Thanks in advance for any wisdom…

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New shoot

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #24 on: September 07, 2021, 11:29 »
I don't know the answer to your question Pim, but I am sure the council could step in if they wanted to.  It may be they are hesitant as they have conflicting stories from both sides and are not sure what move to make.

The only analogy I can draw is a grievance between people at work.  If you had to deal with it as a manager you would have statements from both sides and get an impartial person involved to mediate and sort it out.  If that failed to resolve matters and/or produced any evidence of wrong doing from either side, it would then get escalated to a disciplinary for whoever needed it.  I have had to sit in on such matters and sometimes the end result is that both parties are told to draw a line and move on while respecting each other and company rules.

Can you ask the council to mediate over such a discussion?  It would allow them to get involved without taking sides and at least listen to you.  I mentioned the last bit about drawing a line as it may be that the price of keeping your plot is an uneasy truce that you would have to be prepared to sign up to.  At least the dispute would then be documented and you would have a contact to go to about any future mismanagement you wanted to report.

Possibly not the answer you wanted, but maybe a way forward  :unsure:

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jezza

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #25 on: September 13, 2021, 16:22 »
Hello  the parish clerk in my village is a pompous sod  he took one of my tenders for some work to another contractor and asked them to beat it ,I said thow about giving them a shovel to dig a hole then give them a crack at back of head with the shovel,they might grow some good runner beans  check the drains first, dont want to pollute any water courses,this is a last resort     jezza

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Pimento

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #26 on: September 13, 2021, 18:48 »
Hi New Shoot,

Thanks for that. Nice idea, but the committee has refused mediation, even though I was never even offered a right of appeal. They’ve broken the law on several fronts, in addition to causing me untold distress. They’re the ones who need evicting, not me. The council just can’t be bothered to act- but I’m going to do my best to make them.

Thanks again! :)

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jmc1949

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #27 on: September 13, 2021, 21:42 »
Hi Pimento, I went through the same problem last year. I know the distress you are going through. No matter were I turned for help it wasn't forthcoming. Our Parish Council chose not to get involved. Eventually some of my fellow allotmenteers realised I was being cyber bullied and that one person was conducting a vendetta against me, so they called an EGM to resolve the problem and although I wasn't eventually evicted I chose to leave. I'm on a much nicer privately run site now. No committees, no despots, if I have a problem I contact the owner. As I said I do know how distressing it all is. It nearly broke me. I do hope you can resolve everything.

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Pimento

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #28 on: September 13, 2021, 23:03 »
JMC, thanks so much for that - I really do appreciate it so much. After many years of hard work there, it’s really hard to express just how traumatic it is - especially having the proof that you’re being deliberately victimised, but being unable to make anyone else listen or help. I’ve had a few messages of sympathy but no one else is prepared to stick their neck out, so no EGM for me. I know a lot of people on the site will also just assume that the lies are true and proper process has been followed - which it certainly hasn’t. Short of suing them it’s really hard to know what to do.

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mumofstig

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Re: Allotment despots
« Reply #29 on: September 14, 2021, 09:08 »
Are the things/tools etc you have on the plot worth a solicitor's letter, threatening them with it, at least?
They surely have to allow you access to remove your own property.



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