[Carollan]

(I don`t know where to put this post,so I`ll put it here for starters!)

We are starting up an allotment society from scratch.
The few of us who are there at the moment don`t want a tap put on the site by the builders,but the Parish council have said they do want one,in case future allotment holders want to use the water.

Have you got water on tap at your allotment?
How is it metered?How is it paid for?Is it very expensive?
Is there a way of individual allotment holders paying for what they use?

We aren`t sure how much we`ll all have to pay,and we know some people will use a lake of water every day in the summer,they are the ones who steal as much as they can from the big tank we have by the communal shed,leaving very little for anyone else.

I would like lots of replies,so that I have info for the Parish Council sub-committee meeting on monday evening.
Thankyou all in advance 

[mumofstig]

we have water on site that the Council pay for, we have already been told that the rents will go up next year because this year's water bill was a big one, because of the drought

[Carollan]

Thats another thing,we will have to start paying rent,how much rent do you all pay?We haven`t paid for years ,since the nuns gave us the land to work for nothing,knowing they were selling up to the builders.

[sunshineband]

We pay £68 per year including water for a full sized allotment.

To be honest there are few that abuse the water supply: most do not use more than is needed

[Willie_Eckerslike]

I'm on a small site with just 15 plots. My plot is 120' x 30'. Water is metered so we have one bill which comes to the treasurer. We pay £15 each per year for the water and £80 rent for the plot. We have one tap for every 3 plots, but most of us save as much water as possible in the water butts.

[sunshineband]

Forgot to mention all the water butts we have as well 

[mumofstig]

mine is about a quarter plot and it was £17 this year, which includes the water,  and fence maintenance - but nothing else....no manure, no communal shed, no chippings, NOTHING.

[Carollan]

mumofstig,you have a good deal there ! we have a communal shed of sorts,its an old garage falling down,windows falling out,corrugated leaky roof.....nothing else at all,and thats how we like it.I guess you get used to what you have or have not

[sonnycbr]

Ours is a very large allotment society. There are at least 200 full size lotties!! Our water charges are included in the rent which is £50 per year per lottie. We have one tap for about every 10 gardens....long hoses and patience needed!!!

[chili]

i have a half size plot in canterbury, i got a shed (very old and partially rotten but dry) and we have 5 taps on site, that cost me £16 this year. Ours are run by a committee.

[AnneB]

Ours is a council site with about 40 plot holders and we pay £20 extra for water on top of £27.20 rent for a full size plot (which are not uniform in size).

I wouldn't be without the water.  It was off for 3 weeks early summer due to a leak and it was incredibly difficult to keep the plot adequately provided with water and we had to lug a container from home.

That said, the supply is a perennial problem, with leaks, stolen copper piping, replacement tap heads that don't work, the bowling green next to us pinching our supply in the past etc etc. 

However I haven't seen anyone on our site waste water and we all collect rain water in butts, and a plotholder is a good source of water butts from a printing company.

[caroline800]

We have one tap for about 70 full sized plots.  Plot rent is £48 plus £9 a year water rates. 

At the moment only about 20 plots are in use, most people started this year, our site is the "poor relation" of the allotments in our area and has been very much neglected for at least the last 10 years. 

This year the Council employed contractors to clear and level the vacant plots and we are told there is a waiting list of 150 people, although to date we haven't seen many of them!

[rowlandwells]

our allotments are situated in a village they back onto the churchyard the churchyard tap is quite away from the Lottie so that's a non starter for a lot of reasons

but we do have an open spring that runs into the Lottie from the field next door that we have put a pipe in so it runs to the Lottie and most people its a communal thing that everyone fills each others drums 

the Lottie is owned by the local parish council we get the grass and the hedge cut periodically there is no provision for a communal shed as the last one was vandalized we are not permitted to errect our own sheds under the present Lottie terms and conditions

as for water being on tap that's a no no because the landlord who owns the land next to the Lottie will not give consent for water to be piped across his field also there is the water management to be considered do we lock the tap and all have keys  because it mite be open to abuse by being turned on so wasting water that someone will have to pay for then there's the installation cost if it was ever agreed i think some of the councillors would have serious objections for this to happen because of the initial outlay by the council there are some councilors that would dearly like to close the Lottie

because they think its a waste of the parish councils money to cut grass and hedges for  only a small number of people paying a peppercorn rent for the privilege of renting an allotment which has seen a small rent increase this year  together with an ever increasing waiting list for an allotment fortunately that is not the view of all the councilors there obviously would be a rent increase that would need to be openly discussed on a consultation basis in my opinion water on tap to the Lottie will never happen

so its watering cans at the ready into the butt thank god for free water out the spring that never stops even in a dry season

 

[BabbyAnn]

We have standpipes dotted about the allotment site (roughly 4-6 full size plots share a tap) which is switched on after the 5th April and turned off after bonfire night (we are allowed one bonfire a year on the Saturday of Bonfire Night - the availability of the water is a just in case ....)  The water rates depend on plot size so there's obviously a calculation, roughly half the price of rent.  So my rental is about £60 for a full size plot plus about £30 for water = total £90 pa.

Rental doesn't seem to get you much - a plot, no toilet facilities, no free compost or bark chippings or manure, the track round the site is in total disrepair.  However, the council cover several allotment sites and rent goes towards things like security fencing, new heavy duty padlocks and keys etc which costs £1000s, plus disposal of waste (clearance when a tenant finishes and leaves a plot in a mess etc) - the budget tends to favour whatever is needed urgently at which site rather than what we'd all like.

Water usage - we are allowed to use hose pipes but during peak times especially evenings during hot weather, it is courteous (but not a rule) to allow people to fill water cans - anyone hogging the standpipe with a hosepipe would probably have a riot on their hands.  I prefer to go to the allotment very early in the morning when it is quieter.  Sprinklers are not allowed which I whole heartedly agree with, but I often see some that have obviously been left switched on overnight. 

Water butts - with access to pipe water, you'd think there was no need to get yourself a water butt, but during hot weather and peak tap demand it is very handy, and more so if March is mild and dry (water is only switched on after the 5th April and NEVER before) so worth filling up before the taps are switched off for the winter break (this is to protect the pipe work in case of bad winter weather)  There's also the risk of impending hose pipe bans during drought conditions (we were very close to one this year ...) so worth setting up a standby 

[Dominic]

I'm not sure how it varies around the country, but £50 standing charge per water supply (not quite the same as water tap) and £1.50 per 1000 litres should be the cost of water.