Newbury Allotment Dispute

Hello, I hope you don't mind me making my first post here a plea for help, but I'm in dispute with Newbury Town Council who are trying to evict me. If you have any suggestions how I can get some justice I'd be pleased to hear, and if it's OK I'd like to post a link to my facebook campaign and I'd be really pleased if you'd "like" it in support - http://www.facebook.com/NewburyGrowingPains

In a nutshell these are the issues:

I've been given a Notice to Quit that expires 1 April. I've been on my site for sixteen years and started getting grief from the Council in 2007 when I founded the Wash Common Allotment Society in order to give allotmenteers a voice.

In 2009, as Chair of the Society, I warned the Council that the rent review term of the tenancy agreement was unfair because tenants were locked into their tenancy by a requirement for 12 months notice while the Council could impose an arbitrary rent increase without any notice. The Council officer warned me not to raise the issue or I'd "lose support at the Council". In March 2010 the Council put rents up 47% from £4.71/pole to £6.94/pole and as they wouldn't discuss the matter I complained to Trading Standards who obliged the Council to change the tenancy Agreement.

Around this time I also stepped up the campaign for self-management after the Council resolved to not recognise the Society because, as the leader of the Council so elegantly put it, I had "slagged the Council off in the press" - I'd written a pretty measured letter to the local paper complaining about the rent increase you see. I didn't want to bow to the Council's anger at being criticised, so I did what anyone would do in the circumstances - I criticised them some more.



I witheld the increase in rent and, still refusing to discuss the issue, the Council gave me a notice of forfeiture for arrears expiring 17 May 2010. They couldn't enforce that due to the unfairness, so rather than apologise they gave me another notice of forfeiture for 13 December 2010.

This is what Trading Standards said:

and

and this is what the Town Council said about the new Tenancy Agreement

That should have been an end to it. I had witheld £20 of rent because the increase was unlawful, but we all agreed that and we should all have moved on. I should have been offered the new agreement along with the other 500 of Newbury's allotmenteers, and the Town Council might have usefully reflected on how it would have been better to have discussed the issue sensibly in the first place.

What actually happened was that the Council offered me the new agreement but with a rider added in biro by the parish clerk pre-evicting me on 13 December 2010.

Obviously I wasn't going to sit idle and be evicted so I've had to fight on ever since, but if the Council had just shown some honesty and accountability two years ago none of this would ever have followed.

Again the Council couldn't evict me on 13 December because of the unfairness so they scrathed their heads and in February 2011 they revoke the forfeiture and served me with a Notice to Quit 1 April 2012.

A Notice to Quit is very difficult to challenge because it needs no fault on the part of the tenant but I had a chance if I could show that the Council, who were now denying that the rent review term was unfair, had acted in bad faith. I asked to see the minutes of the committee meeting where the Council had resolved to revoke the forfeiture and serve the Notice to Quit because I suspected that they might have minuted what I guessed to be their strategy. I believe that I have a right to parish meeting minutes under S.228 of the Local Government Act 1972, but the Council refused me the minutes and an officer of the Council is currently on trial for an alleged offence under S.228 at Newbury Magistrates Court, resuming end of April.

I took out legal proceedings against the Council to get a decision on the fairness of the rent review term but the Council threatened enormous costs, like £20k if I lost, and as good as my argument was I simply couldn't afford the slightest possibility of losing that much money, so I had to abandon my claim.

Having the tenancy end on April 1 isn't such a problem if the Council just let me my plot on a new Tenancy Agreement, but their condition for doing that was that I sign a secret no-criticism protocol.

I wasn't prepared to sign away my rights and dignity like that so I refused, so last night the Council resolved a new rule that allows them to refuse to let a plot to anyone they don't like.

So that's where I am now. Notice expires on 1 April and unless I can pull something out of the bag an abusive bullying council have won.

Very many thanks, Simon

 

The other issue, as I read from the info provided, is that:-
a: your objection was that you were concerned that you did not have the right to exit the scheme if an unfair rent increase was applied - they gave you that option by asking you to leave.
b: you refused to pay the increase and are in arrears, whatever the reading of the various comments/opinions.

I can understand the Council not wanting public notices anti-council. You formed an Allotment association to voice such comments and had direct access to the Council to discuss them - raise objections etc.

Unfortunately I think you have shot yourself in the foot. You will either have to pay the new charge and keep comments within the Association's direct communication to the Council, or find another Allotment.

I just noticed, the notice period expired a few days ago. You've left it late to raise the issue.

Sorry!

 

Dont you just hate, when they beat up the little guy... I emailed them and i Liked, good luck, they are doing the opposite of there job, and enjoying it by the looks of things

 

I know there are a few people here who could offer advice on what to do next...I'm sure they will come along soon and help.

Simon, I think the council are behaving in a disgusting manner seeing as though you are being penalised for wanting to organise allotment holders into an organised group. Yes that may have got in their way to raise plot rents, but thaat does not mean that one person should suffer because of it.

Steve...

 

Thanks Loofah

The minutes this is sub judice at the moment as the case is suspended until the end of April. I haven't tried CAB as I'm reasonably sure of my rights but I think I'll go and see if they can find me some kind of representation.

 

Hi gcc3663

This dispute has essentially been about the council respecting allotmenteers' rights.

The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 give consumers a right to a fair tenancy agreement and a rent review term that allows an arbitrary increase without notice when the tenant is obliged to give 12 months notice fails the feainess test in the Regulations. Even if the tenant could escape the agreement we have invested too much in the year ahead to be able to quit without any loss if we didn't like the rent rise. The Regulations protect us as consumers from this sort of unfairness by making unfair terms unenforceable, and so refusing to pay the increase does not give rise to arrears - this is why the Council withdrew the forfeiture and served instead a Notice to Quit, they couldn't enforce the forfeiture but they were too cross that someone should have asserted their consumer rights that they served the Notice to Quit out of spite.

Likewise the no-criticism clause, we all have a right to criticise the state under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act and it's an important right to assert in a free country, more important still if the Council doesn't respect that right. Should the council be free to threaten me not to tell anyone how much it costs them to provide the allotment service just because saying so is politically inconvenient?

 

Thanks for your support Dopey, Steve - thanks too for the suggestion to post here Steve, I hope that's OK with everyone.

 

Simon, I've emailed Julian Swift-Hook [email protected] your councillor in Newbury and joined your Facebook campaign too.

Let us know if there is anything else we can do to help.

Steve...

 

Hi Simon
I'm not anti your rights, and hope you achieve the best result for yourself and other Allotmenteers.
It will be interesting to see the final result.

 

Thanks Steve, that's great.

 

Thanks gcc3663, I appreciate the support. It's always good to hear different takes on the dispute because clearly my councillors don't have any sympathy for my argument and if I can understand why that might be I might be able to win some of them round.

 

Totally on your side mate. What press have you had over this issue, local or otherwise?

I'm gobsmacked. This is a joke right!?...

..."Simon Kirby agrees to:

c. Cease to make postings and pronouncements in public places (including in particular notice boards and e-forums) that are critical of or negative towards Newbury Town Council, its Members, Employees, Contractors, Customers, Tenants, and other associates, without prior discussion with the Chief Executive Officer of Newbury Town Council.

d. Not to cause nuisance to Newbury Town Council, its Members, Employees, Contractors, Customers, Tenant and other associates and in particular not to take action that entails inordinate amount of time to be spent by Newbury Town Council Members and Officers for no real benefit.

Newbury Town Council and Simon Kirby agree to keep the terms of this Agreement strictly confidential and agree not to disclose, communicate or otherwise make public the same to anyone (save professional advisers), or for the enforcement of the terms of this Agreement and otherwise as may be required to be disclosed by law."

 

contact the BBC and see if they will air your story on your local tv news station .... also contact your local radio stations

 

Contact Jeremy Vine with this as well. He's perfectly placed to take on a story like this.