[newbiegrower]

ours is about a 10 minute walk that was the main factor for choosing the site we got a plot on, there are water taps on site, parking on the site and our local council because it is a council run site provide a skip for all our rubbish

[toptonk]

ours was right behind my house until they built the new bypass,now i have to use the underpass they provided us with so the walk is now about 200 yards from my house.We are provided with taps.Another idea for you is to look at some sort of grant funding we have done quite well out of this and have been given 4 compost bins per plot,water buts,wheel barrows,a rotavator,a secure shed to lock it in.This year we are trying for new plastic clotches for each plot.   To top it off every plot was provided with an 8x6 wooden shed by the company who built the road,they also replaced the old fence with an eight foot high metal fence.     I have to say we are very lucky indeed with the commitee and the way they have got us what they have.

[Salkeela]

Wow! Thanks for all the replies folks!

I have been off line a couple of days due to the home computer crashing, but this gives me loads of food for thought.

Allotmenteering in N.Ireland is not all that well established.  There is one long established plot about 20mins drive from us (on a north facing slope in a built up area) and a couple of other very new sites within 30min drive.  

I think I'll get in touch with the folk who run the other new sites and see what interest they have had.  Also ask about the admin stuff.

If we do anything with this we would aim to have off-road parking and water available.  Fencing would be a must as the area is part of a field.

Thanks for replies

[love-my-plot]

. :arrow:

[Jim T]

Okay folks - Just to pick your brains here.

I am considering designating an area of field for allotments; perhaps someone could help me with answers to some general questions?

1. How far will people travel to an allotment site? We are in the country about 2.5 miles from nearest town.

2. What legislation (if any) covers the change of use from field to allotment?

3. What is the usual size of an alloment?

4. What facilities are usually provided? (Water, carparking, fencing etc.)

At present this is not thought through - rather it is a notion I took over the week-end, when my sister commented that her friend drives 5miles to the lottie she works.

Any comments welcome - especially if you have experience of allotment management.

Like a few other comments, ours are all 10 x 30 metres and I am quite happy driving a little van 5 - 10 minutes.

We put up our own perimeter fences but high fences are frowned on.

My wife and I started a fashion last year of using the front 2 x 10 yards as a car park.
Three big problems have been 1. security .... outsiders get in and steal things.
2. Water supply ... each plotter expects a tap within 25 metres.
3. Waterlogging. Our site has lots of low lying areas with clay which needs some form of drainage.
Hope this helps.

[Salkeela]

Good point about waste amenities Love-my-plot

JimT I'm hoping your 3 major concerns won't be a problem here.

The proposed site is back off the road up a farm lane (which would be upgraded with stones if we get this offf the ground) so security should not be a problem.  We would lock the gate to the road and give plot holders keys.  Also the whole area is in sight of my kitchen window (but not too close).

There is already water in the field which we could break into to provide taps.

Although the field is good old Co.Down drumlin clay, this area of the field has never flooded - the fact it is up a hill helps!  (It's on a gentle slope down to the lower bit of the field & then a slope back up towards the house.)

I think my main problem might be getting only a couple of folk signed up, meaning all the effort/costs will not be covered by their rent until several years down the line.

OH has just suggested we look into a farm diversification grant..... so that may be a route to help with the upfront costs of setting up.

[mushroom]

The 'normal' size of an allotment is 10 rods....approx. 90' x 30'.

1 rod = 16 feet 6 inches. 10 rods is 165 feet.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_(unit)

[mushroom]

Okay folks - Just to pick your brains here.

I am considering designating an area of field for allotments; perhaps omeone could help me with answers to some general questions?

1. How far will people travel to an allotment site? We are in the country about 2.5 miles from nearest town.

2. What legislation (if any) covers the change of use from field to allotment?

3. What is the usual size of an alloment?

4. What facilities are usually provided? (Water, carparking, fencing etc.)

At present this is not thought through - rather it is a notion I took over the week-end, when my sister commented that her friend drives 5miles to the lottie she works.

Any comments welcome - especially if you have experience of allotment management.

1. I'd consider anything up to 5 miles away.

2. No idea. But if it is your field, I think you can define something like an everlasting covenant for allotment use only that is binding in perpetuity.

3. Around these parts, the usual individual plot length is 10 rods, which is 165 feet. On my site, a lot of people have half plots. Mine is half a plot, at 5 rods. The width of my plot is about 20 feet, though some people seem to have 30 feet. Width doesn't seem as standardized as length. The paths between individual plots are 2 feet in width, and it seems most people divide their beds with grass paths of 12 to 18 inches.

4. my site its owned by a committee and they collect rates on behalf of the council. we have water troughs at intervals, for filling watering cans. We have limited parking, and toilets. There's a gate with a lock on it, but yobs can still jump over the fence. We have fencing which is enhanced by tall prickly brambles.

hope this helps!

[Salkeela]

Thanks mushroom.  I still have a lot to think through.

I would need to divide the field first (meaning I would need to decide the final size at the start. :? ) due to the need for permanent fencing between the allotment area and the stock in the field.  This requires paperwork and may cost a few hundred to fence too.

Everything else would need to be of a temporary nature in order to avoid having to go through planning permission etc. So fencing with the allotment would need to be temp.

To be honest I started this because I realised I was in the priviledged position of owning land and because I thought it would be nice to be able to share.  I do not yet have a demand.

I suspect that at the prices I could afford to offer plots my demand will be too low to justify starting up.

Pity because with all this flooding I think food prices will only go up and up.....

Anyway I'm still going through the motions of investigating this, without committing to anything yet.

[Lynne]

Ours is about 3 miles away and situated in a semi rural location but with a housing estate near it. It has water and parking but that's all. The fencing is fairly secure, but not foolproof for determined vandals from the estate.

[Jim T]

Good point about waste amenities Love-my-plot

JimT I'm hoping your 3 major concerns won't be a problem here.

The proposed site is back off the road up a farm lane (which would be upgraded with stones if we get this offf the ground) so security should not be a problem.  We would lock the gate to the road and give plot holders keys.  Also the whole area is in sight of my kitchen window (but not too close).

There is already water in the field which we could break into to provide taps.

Although the field is good old Co.Down drumlin clay, this area of the field has never flooded - the fact it is up a hill helps!  (It's on a gentle slope down to the lower bit of the field & then a slope back up towards the house.)

I think my main problem might be getting only a couple of folk signed up, meaning all the effort/costs will not be covered by their rent until several years down the line.

OH has just suggested we look into a farm diversification grant..... so that may be a route to help with the upfront costs of setting up.

Sounds a good place; hope you get a grant; Good luck, Jim

[sweet nasturtium]

Have you looked at some of the american community garden sites?  They seem to have kind of communal  farms where people pay a little and then put shifts of work in to get return of vegetables.  It's a kind of co-operative I suppose.

Allotments are usually a certain size and have very strict rules but there would be nothing to say you couldn't do somehting a little less "municipal".  Is it your own field that you're offering up?

[Salkeela]

Hi nasturtium. I've been away for a bit on hols so missed your question.  

So Yes my own field.  However I do wonder if we are too far out, and perhaps in a too well to do area, meaning that most folk have a bit of garden for what they want to grow.  

Anyway having thought a bit about all this, it does mean that the idea is still there and simmering ready to be brought to the boil if things look like changing.  

[sweet nasturtium]

Glad you came back to this.  I've also been on hols in France, but last year in Germany, and there seem to be allotments wherever there is a nearby town where people don't have gardens or in hilly areas where gardening is unfeasible.

Your town is 2.5 miles away - is it densely populated?

An alternative would be to lend it to an organisation who may let their clients use it for employment training / therapy or something.  We have a learning disabled adults group use one of our plots.  That way someone else takes care of the organising.

[Salkeela]

Hi again nasturtium -  

I agree about Europe and allotments... we have int he past holidayed in France and were amazed how every little garden seemed to be growing something edible.  (Round here a nice paved patio and hard standing for the car is preferred.... oh and then some membrane covered in pink pebbles and planted through with low care plants.... *sigh*)

I would be wary of loosing control of the field to be honest, folk can be well intentioned but......

... so I would not hand over a portion for others to manage....