[Sally A]

offer to take the poo of their hands to lime the soil, you might find one that's OK.

Do racing pigeons ever eat the crops? if so seems mad the council let them share an alloment site.

[diggerjoe]

What amuses me is our plot annual newletter- I laughed when I read the bit in capitals that said allotments are not managed by doing one hour a week! 90% of the plotters on my site (96 plots) are retired or redundant they forget some of us still have a working day. I gave up half my plot before Christmas because I was told I was not clearing it quickly enough although it had been neglected for 4 years before i took it on. I am there every weekend but seems its not enough for some - what next clocking in and out to make sure we do our quota.  

[beeman]

The site in our village was set up about 5 years ago and utilised part of what was the old unused recreation ground that had been rented out for sheep grazing occasionally. There are about 40 plots [5m x 10m] and a few half plots. They are available to residents of the village with up to 1 and a half plots per family. I got my plot when I applied for it in July and it had a wonderful crop of tussocky grass intespresed with docks [some of the docks went down more than half a metre]. I think that the 'committee' keep an eye on the level of effort being put in and are likely to 'have a word' about switching to a half plot or giving up if no progress is being made. There is a short waiting list that should be accommodated in the spring when 3 plots and a couple of halves become available. There is also a communual poly tunnel with 20 small plots and a communual tool shed.

[John]

It seems to me there's a bit of a pattern developing. Some sites are a bit over eager, demanding people clear a plot in days but others let people keep uncultivated plots for ages.

As I understand it, our system with a plot that is untended is to notify the occupant that they have 6 weeks to have 60% of the plot under cultivation or quit. This seems fair to me, allowing time to actually get a reasonable portion under control.

Of course there is discretion, when someone is poorly it's not reasonable to chase them up but what do you do if someone becomes permanently disabled and wants to keep their plot on even though it's obvious to everyone they're not really coming back.

I think a good site manager has to accept that not every decision is going to be liked.

[pepper]

Only had a plot since last April so not sure what went on before that but when the waiting list reached 53, a notice went up about immediate inspections. I'm not sure what happened but quite a number of previously neglected plots suddenly showed signs of cultivation.

[BAK]

pepper,

quick question - roughly how many plots on your site?

Thanks

Brian

[bedrockdave]

hi this is my first time !!,
 have read this thread with interest and how I would love some of you to live near me. I have 3 plots on a village community owned site (2 of which my wife and I took on because no-one else wanted them )and there are 5 plots which are taken but never worked . I think its because they're TOO  CHEAP,WE'RE ONLY CHARGED £1 A YEAR AND THAT INCLUDES WATER.Even the "sec" didnt work his plot last year and I have only seen him twice in 3 years. One guy has a few raspberry canes and some rhubarb and parks his trailer on the site. cheap parking would you say.I have suggested that the price be put up and have free stuff from the lottie shop but have been told that would have to go before the committee but there are never any meetings as no-one turns up, It would be so nice to have a well maintained site,

[BAK]

I have called a halt to my little questionnaire on the subject of waiting lists and plot inspections. Many thanks to those who participated. I received 41 responses, mostly before Christmas.

To briefly summarise the results:

* 38 have a waiting list. The sizes vary significantly. Insufficient data available to be confident of quoting any overall figures

* only 3 out of the 41 have no form of plot inspection

* of the 38 that do have plot inspections 14 have a single annual inspection, 9 have 2, 3 have 4, and 12 have them regularly (1-2 months)

* information on the time allowed to rectify a problem plot was patchy and is therefore not quoted

As my questions were somewhat terse quite a number of people made supplementary comments, including:

* the term inspection was generally disliked on the grounds that it sounds too officious. Appraisal and review were offered as alternatives

* sensible exemptions from plot inspections are made on health grounds

*  a person who has recently taken on an overgrown patch will usually be given a reasonable amount of time to knock it into shape  

* several people made it clear that inspections were low key and that any problem was pursued quietly with the individual concerned initially to see if there were mitigating circumstances before any “official action” was taken, e.g. sending a warning letter

* a traffic light system is adopted by one site where amber indicates that the plot is a bit “iffy” and needs some attention

* Before eviction one organisation offers the plot holder the option of reducing the size of the plot, e.g. moving from 10 to 5 poles, on the grounds that the person may be able to cope better with a smaller patch.

[jolly jen]

i was on the waiting list about 6mths,turned down one plot as it was until 2 mths ago horse land,too much work i thought,2 weeks after i turned it down the allotment team are sorting it out,damm.
but my plot is in a much nicer site across the road,overgrown ,needs a lot of work,but there are loads of empty plots and too may people on the wating list,they have to wait three mths from when they give notice,my plot hadnt been worked on for a whole year by the plot holder and its complete wild b4 that was the best plot in the site i was told,shame!!!!