[Pimento]

Hi Jezza,

Thanks very much for this, I appreciate it. I’m afraid it’s not good news at my end. I would love to name and shame both my allotment site and the council but I’m not sure if the admins will allow it - perhaps they can advise.

There is no doubt my allotment committee have acted illegally on numerous occasions, both in evicting me and in the aftermath. I have reams of evidence, chapter and verse.

The council have now completed their ‘investigation’ and concluded they have no remit or responsibility to interfere in the committee’s decisions, even though the committee has clearly breached the terms of its contract with the council - things could hardly be more transparent.

Meanwhile, the committee have sold off my possessions -  with a second-hand value of hundreds of pounds - for a pittance, within 48 hours of a bogus ‘appeal’ to which I wasn’t even allowed to contribute. The person making the decision was the same person who chose to evict me. The committee turned down an independent appeal with an adjudicator from the National Allotment Society when they discovered they would be expected to abide by the decision.

They have been expelled from the local allotment federation (a large one, covering a major conurbation) for their behaviour in relation to my eviction.

They failed to notify me about the sale of my property, which they are required to do  in law - in fact, they tried to hide it. The secretary refused to speak to both the NAS and the police when they rang to inquire what was happening with my possessions.

So now my beloved allotment, and everything on it, are gone. All because I dared to ask a couple of questions about poor management practices.

Is it any doubt such lousy and corrupt committees exist when absolutely no one will hold them to account?

[John]

Thanks very much for this, I appreciate it. I’m afraid it’s not good news at my end. I would love to name and shame both my allotment site and the council but I’m not sure if the admins will allow it - perhaps they can advise.

I understand how you must feel but we have to be cautious with the forum. We don't have the resources to get into legal battles - which can quickly run into tens of thousands - with libel claims.

On the sale of your property - I suspect the police will be reticent and want to write the problem off as a civil dispute. It could be worth speaking to a lawyer.

[Pimento]

Hi John, thanks for that.

Yes, the police can only get involved to a limited degree but - due to the extent of the harassment involved - they’ve done the best to help insofar as they can.

I’ve already taken legal advice from various sources. At this stage the Small Claims Court is looking like the best bet.

[Yorkie]

Check to see whether your house insurance covers you for any legal aspects.

[Pimento]

Hi Yorkie, thanks for that. It does but they won’t cover me for this - I’ve already had a long battle on that one, unfortunately.

[jezza]

Hello check out your local authority,the allotment management committee/trustees,local  parish coincil they may be all one and the same    jezza

[Pimento]

Hi Jezza,

I’ve been speaking to the council since last June - everyone from the allotments manager to the chief executive. After they failed to act I complained and they carried out a formal investigation into their own behaviour. They concluded they’d do nothing wrong as they claim they have no remit or responsibility to intervene in the committee’s affairs. I disagree, of course. So now I’m complaining to the ombudsman.

My councillors have also been involved and lobbying on my behalf. So has the local allotment federation. So has the National Allotment Society. But it hasn’t done any good. The council refuses to hold the allotment committee accountable, so they feel at liberty to do exactly what they like.

Sadly my allotment and property have gone now - it’s too late to get them back. I’m not the first person to be illegally evicted by these vindictive bullies, and I won’t be the last.

[al78]

You have my sympathy and I hope there is a way to get justice, but I can't help thinking ultimately your best option in the mid to long term is to find another site. Even if you were successful in your appeal and were allowed to stay, do you really want to remain under the management of what sound like pathological narcissists? In the end your own physical and mental health should take priority.

[Pimento]

Hi Al,

Before all this began I had very little to do with the committee, so I was prepared to go back as long as I was allowed to mind me own business quietly. I’ve invested years of intense effort and a great deal of money on my plot - as well as building up some rare and wonderful plant collections. So it was a lot to give up.

Now it’s somewhat academic as my plot and my possessions are gone anyway - but no, I don’t want any more to do with these truly appalling people. The local allotment federation has kindly offered to try and find a new plot for me, but it’ll be my third time of starting over (I switched sites previously for geographical reasons) and at the moment I honestly don’t know if I have the stomach to start all over again.

[Aunt Sally]

A sad story, Pimento.

I hope sharing it here has helped you to get through what has been a horrible time.

[Goosegirl]

Oh Pimento! My heart goes out to you for what is a most horrible and shameful experience to go through. I admire your courage and persistence and so hope the Small Claims court will be able to offer some consolation. Big GG hugs to you.

[Pimento]

Thanks so much, Aunty and Goosegirl - really appreciate it.

I really hope at least it’s helped to highlight an issue which really needs addressing, in my view - hopefully most plot holders will never have to go through anything like this, but when you’re confronted with true bullies it really is frightening how little comeback you can have on an allotment, unless you have huge pots of money to take it to court.

Councils’ responsibilities need clarifying, and there need to be proper procedures to hold both them and allotment committees accountable.

It’s fine in theory saying bad committees can simply be voted out - but try making that work in practice on sites where the tenants are too scared or too disillusioned by bad management to get involved.

What’s happened to me is simply awful, and I know it’s the site’s loss as well as mine. I can’t give anyone any better advice than to say, ‘If you see bad things happening around you, don’t make my mistake - just keep your head down and ignore it’.  And that’s awful, too.

[snowdrops]

This whole episode must have been & still be very distressing for you, I’m very sorry that the outcome is as it is and it doesn’t bode well for anyone else in the same position. Hopefully NSALG will use your experience to influence & advise in the future & maybe other councils will tighten up their proceedures.

[mumofstig]

As I said on the other thread about this,
https://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=135279.msg1558491#msg1558491

It seems there has been some terrible behaviour by individuals on some allotment committees, but apart from providing the links to people or associations who may be able to help, as we have done, there is nothing more this Site can do.

In view of this, I am now locking this thread - it will remain, available to view, for anyone else in a similar situation.