Newbury Allotment Dispute

Thanks Life is Pain and *dim*, and it's no joke I'm afraid. I have some friends organising a media campaign, I'll suggest Jeremy Vine and the BBC to them, and they're already using their media contacts to get the story out there.

 

Have liked your Facebook page. Good luck with it Simon! The dirty boogers need a wake up call!

 

Thanks catztail, I need all the support I can muster.

 

I have no useful advice to add. I hope you win though.

 

Are you a member/sought advice from? http://www.nsalg.org.uk/

But my instinct is that this goes much wider than allotment rights/legislation, otherwise local authorities could also 'ban' people who criticised them from 'their' car parks, leisure/sporting/educational/burial/etc. facilities.

Please, please, please go to your local CAB/Law Centre/etc. and inform them that your local authority is attempting to deny you access to services you are entitled to unless you sign an agreement promising not to criticise them.

And also ensure you contact http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/index.php

 

AND how much do you spend on seeds/plants a year ?

Sheesh I thought Scrungee was tight

I know you are on about a principal thing, but you can not even buy two pints of beer with £7 today

I would happily pay £10per pole a month for an allotment of my own

When is the site free?

Jack McHammocklashing

 

Thanks for the support clueless1, and thanks too Scrungee, I will do that.

 

Hi Jack McHammocklashing, thanks for your comments. Our rents are now £7.30/pole, so at £73 I can still afford my allotment because I'm in work on an average wage, but not everyone is in my position and the allotment movement must be accessable to everyone whatever their ability to pay - remember its roots in the enclosure period as a growing space for the labouring poor?

£6.94/pole was in the top 10% of councils so it's more expensive than most, but more importantly it's very much more than needs to be charged. Under self-management £5/pole would leave ample surplus for reinvestment in facilities of which we currently have none, but the council actively suppress and possibility of self-management even though it would save the tax-payer £100k.

But you also need to understand is that on the night the Council voted to increase rents to £6.94/pole the chaiman of the committee tabled a proposal for £25/pole for new tenants - £250 for my plot. It wasn't passed, but it was tabled, and there is a very good reason for the council objecting to giving us any notice of a rent increase, because with 12 months notice we might be able to organise an effective protest against that kind of rent rise.

And then yes, the principle is important. The Unfair Terms Regulations aren't concerned with how big the increase is, it's entirely a matter of how the tenancy agreement is drafted. Any open and accountable parish council would welcome a review of the fairness of its tenancy agreement - why would a responsible parish council not want its tenancy agreement to be fair? And what chaiman of association would be worth his salt who didn't stand up to his council for a fair tenancy agreement?

 

Sorry Scrungee I missed those points: I wasn';t a NSALG member when this kicked off so I can't get their help. And yes, I've already mailed Liberty to see if they might be able to represent me though I haven't heard back yet.

 

ask these guys for advice (National Society of Allotment & Leisure Gardeners):

http://www.nsalg.org.uk/

 

That's already been covered:

But this one hasn't:

The Local Government Ombudsman

 

Hi JWK

The problem with the clause about wasting council time is that they want me to bow to their every whim. For example they told me to take my flag down that I fly from my shed because a neighbour had apparently complained that it was an "eye sore" and I refused because there isn't a rule prohibiting the flying of flags and I don't accept that an English flag can be an "eye sore". This dispute would have taken up hours and hours of officer time but it's time they shouldn't have been spending on harassing me.


Likewise the dispute over the tenancy agreement. It has taken up hours and hours of officer time over several years but the issues are actually very simple and the dispute has dragged out because the council has chosen to abuse my consumer rights.

The first dispute the Council picked with the allotment society was over a communal site hut. I met the acting services manager on site, asked him if we could have a site hut, he said yes and we shook hands on it. Next day the town clerk insisted on a bunc of additional conditions and after some fruitless attempt to discuss them I agreed and got written permission for the hut, one of the conditions being that the council would survey tenants to see if they wanted the hut. The Counci then spent a year making all kinds of objections, like tenents didn't need a communal hut because they could bring tea in a flask, the society hadn't been going long enough for a hut, children would be in danger with a communal hut, and no one wanted a communal hut - and that last one without any survey. I got a petition together and half the site signed, and I didn't get round to ask many more than half, but the Council ignored the petition. So it went on until the council voted not to allow a hut because they couldn't afford to lose the land it would stand on. So over a year of dispute and hours and hours of officer time when the agreement had been made with one meeting and a handshake.

The Council "spilt" a kilo of rat poison on the back of my allotment and rather than try and pick it up they forked it in. I discovered it and demanded they replace the soil, the council refused, so I involved Environmental Health and the Council had to replace the soil.

Etc.

 

I have sat and read the Newbury Council minutes for the past 2 years. There is very little recorded, apart from a question asked by Simon Kirby in December 2011.
Here is the public statement issued by the council on 21/2/2011
http://www.newbury.gov.uk/pdfs/news/publicstatement-allotmentdispute.pdf

 

Me too, but I think the whole scenario could be resolved if one of the councilors met with Simon, and if both parties have an open mind and an hour to spare a resolution could be gained that is favourable to all.

If the base issues where sorted out then there would not be any need for the press to be involved, so no mud slinging would occur anyway.

This subject is also being discussed here http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,71675.0.html for anyone who wants to read up on the issue.

I suggested to Simon that he came here and posted as I know there are a few people here who are very experienced with such issues and my hope was that some way could be found whereby a meeting could be arranged between a councilor and Simon that would clean up this whole mess.

Steve...