[fallen angel]

Hi i was just wondering what is best a private allotment or a council one?

What are the main differences?

Also i was wondering how hard is it too set up your own set of allotments i mean are there any rules and regs? Is it as easy as buying a field and dividing it up? (im sure there is alot more to it than that lol ie diging out plots ect!)

Nicky xxx

[sweet nasturtium]

Hi i was just wondering what is best a private allotment or a council one?

What are the main differences?

Also i was wondering how hard is it too set up your own set of allotments i mean are there any rules and regs? Is it as easy as buying a field and dividing it up? (im sure there is alot more to it than that lol ie diging out plots ect!)

Nicky xxx

There was a discussion here about someone who wanted to set up some allotments:

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=6833&highlight=field

[fallen angel]

Thanks for that link i know that there is a good demand here for allotments but i sadly dont own a field nor can i buy one shame really as the 2 council sites here have waiting lists of 50 and over on them.

Nicky

[Trillium]

But it doesn't mean you have to wait for #51 spot. Some people, when called, have since changed their mind or their health ability, etc. Some moved without informing the councils. Those who really want plots pay weekly visits to the council secretary (or whoever is in charge of letting them out) to make their face and their serious desire known. Just a friendly visit very regularly and the council knows who to turn to when they need a spot filled. If you want it, its worth the effort.

[jack russell]

yep I agree with trillium here.  i just recently moved house and took a walk around the nearest lotties with the dogs and got talking too the guy who lets the plots out within two weeks i got a half plot which is brill as it is a private plot and the council have a waiting list of 40 plus... so i jumped the Que by years    now in return i have shown him within a very short time with the amount of work i have done i am not just talking a good plot

So now i am on a half plot with a private, with reservations for the sale of the land etc. in the future, under my feet.    

  and a parish Council where the lotty sites future is very well protected  but now a few miles further to travel :roll: .

I am still unsure?   ask me in six months  

[fatbelly]

Those who really want plots pay weekly visits to the council secretary (or whoever is in charge of letting them out) to make their face and their serious desire known. Just a friendly visit very regularly and the council knows who to turn to when they need a spot filled.

This worked for me.

[Yorkie]

Couple of points about waiting lists...

If it's a council list, I suspect you'll find that queue-jumping isn't a frequent occurrence.  As it's a public service, they have to be seen to be fair to everyone, irrespective of keenness.

Even if there are a lot of people on the list, it doesn't always mean that you will have to wait for that number of plots to come vacant before you get one.  

I manage a list which has had as many as 60 on it; I was estimating a 3-5 year wait (worst case scenario).  It's now down to 43, and people are waiting no more than about 18 months.  Still a long time, but not as bad as it was.  In 2007, I added 36 to the list, allocated 24 first halves (and 1 second), and 22 people withdrew from the list without being allocated a plot.

One reason is that, as Trillium wrote, people move / change their minds / get a plot elsewhere etc without bothering to let the person in charge of the list know.

However, I think the main reason the list is dropping in length here, is because for the last 18 months the council has had a policy for all its sites with lists, that it will only let out half plots to new tenants (approx 150 sq yards on average).  This gives as many people as possible the chance to start gardening as soon as possible.

People often think they want a full plot, but then discover that it's more hard work and time than they bargained for (especially families with toddlers, who overestimate their kids' boredom threshold...), and are grateful that they only have a half plot to tackle.

If they garden successfully for a season, we can then look at increasing the space they can garden.  

Also, existing tenants of full plots can't take on further plots now unless and until there's no one waiting for a first or second half plot.  (Existing tenants with more than one plot can keep all their plots, we're not chucking them off!).

If your area has long waiting lists, perhaps this could be discussed with the council allotments officer - it doesn't take a change in tenancy agreements, simply a change in policy.  And the council actually gets more in rent here - because a half plot costs more to rent than half a full plot (if that makes sense!).