We do have shops on a number of sites and have started a new owners help get started scheme to try and keep more starters but these are all run and funded by the garden association and have no connection to the council.
"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
I copied this from a council website for a village local to OH's cottage in Norfolk.
"We currently have 23, single and double plots and there is usually a waiting list for new plots. They cost from £8.75 – £42 for the largest plot, a £50 deposit is required when taking a new plot."
Another quote from a nearby town "Annual subscription for a whole plot (approx. 30’ x 90’) is currently £30, although most are now split in half (approx. 45’ x 30’) due to the high demand for plots. The annual subscription for a half plot is currently £18." Those plots have water and hosepipes from April to October. There is a waiting list.
Seems a lot cheaper than yours, Victoria.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
I don’t have an allotment but thought this might be useful as it list all the councils who have allotments in the NE with links to their websites. Might make information gathering easier? https://www.allaboutallotments.co.uk/associations-north-east
150m2 plot for £30 is what i have, you pay extra taking on a plot with sheds and greenhouse, less if you need to take a machete on your first gardening trip tho!
Our association are very good they look after the tennants interests. Top of the list Rents. Being a grumpy old sod we get well looked after L Pay 27 pounds per year that's about 50 pence per week can't buy a loaf of bread for that
Hi Victoria I have just given up being part of a management team of three looking after the Stevenage allotments which is 16 sites across the town of approx 960 plots. there are various sizes from approx 60sm to 250sm. The councils ruling is you can only rent a total of 250sm and the charge this year has gone up to 35p per sm, so the largest plot 250sm rent is £87.50 and 3 years ago they stopped the 60 years of age discount of 50% and changed it to a discount of 25% for any one if you can prove you are receiving a benefit on a list they provide.
we do not pay for mains water from the water tanks on each site but they stopped providing skips about 4 years ago. We do get deliveries of soil conditioner which is decomposed green stuff etc that households has collected each fortnight and we also can have chipping delivered from any trees that are taken down around the town, but the association for all the sites was being charged £20 per load and that has now gone up to £30 per load, if the site is a big one, then double loads are ordered of each, which last year cost the association nearly £2000 and this cost is not passed onto the tenants, it has to come out of a £11000 budget (that has not gone up for 2years) that the council allows that covers for all sorts of things that needs to be repaired replaced or put in new for all the sites.
there may be a charge on your rent for mains water, but this should be pro-rated for the size of the plot, not everyone the same. The increase sounds very excessive, but they may have done it to stop plots being rented if they want the site for building homes. Ask the question of the council, when was the tenants advised of the large increases and how as you did not know and you have looked at your tenancy agreement and the increase is not what is stated as allowed i.e. 4%.
Has there been a revamp of the tenancy agreement and was you sent the old one when you changed your plot.
I would have thought that the tenants would have had to have 12months notice of any large changes to what you are paying for in your rent.
Thanks for your comments all, I appreciate your input.
I rang the council today.
Firstly, the bill is correct, £165.50, there hasn't been an error. The council is no longer subsidising the allotments.
With regards the comparison of neighbouring authority plot prices and being at the lower end of the scale. I got a non-commital reply, so thank you for the link above Flinster, looks like I'll have to collect the data myself.
With regards the water bill, I was told they didn't think it was metered. It isn't metered, I said. Can I see a copy of the bill. I don't have it, was the reply. I'll have to get in touch with Northumbria water on that one.
I was told someone would ring me back about the water bill but they didn't say when and I think I was being fobbed off.
Thank you for all your information above 4560.
The contract states a minimum 28 days notice must be given of increases. A letter was sent out explaining the charges were being reviewed, it didn't say increased, but that's what it meant. I like transparency, so to me it doesn't justify a 400% increase but others would say that counts as due warning.
My next plot neighbour suggested the increases may be a way of removing us. There was talk of a road being put through the land to the rear of the plots. Again, a more appropriate way of dealing with that would be to give us notice and put our names down elsewhere. If I can establish that all plot rents have gone up around the same amount (allowing for water bills) in the area, that will be a start.
I will ask at my old site if I see anyone and I will visit other sites in the area. If I can collate some data I might pass it onto my local MP. They put a card through my door asking for local issues, well here's one!
It might be easier to just pay my bill and shut up but I'll see how long my steam lasts 😀
Good luck Victoria Sponge it doesn't seem fair at all to raise your rent by that amount, I have had my plot for seven years now and have put a lot of hard work and money into it but if my rent went up by that amount I would reluctantly give the plot up, I'm sure that many on our site would do the same too. In the 1990's when Tesco was expanding its empire they were talking of buying half of our site for a new supermarket, consequently nearly everyone gave their plots up and it was left to a few hardy characters to keep the site going, some of them took on three or four plots to justify the sites existence. After time Tesco faded out of the scene and the site has recovered.
We manage our own site of 81 plots and have a lease/25 year tenancy agreement with the local council and pay no rent to them but decide on our own rent to maintain the site for which we are responsible and a committee is voted in annually.
Our experience with the council is a good one. There is a a contact person at the council if any issues arise and visa versa. The council are kept informed, for instance with tree's and have access 24/7. The site runs parallel to a wood and the railway embankment, consequently we decided on having a tree management plan so we do our own coppicing and manage boundary hedging. The council lets us get on with it.
We work with 'friends of the wood' and the local community. If there are any issues with tree's we inform the council after seeking advise from local tree surgeons. The council agree usually with our solutions.
Rent hasn't gone up for the past two years. There are four bands, depending on size of plot. ranging from, I think 25.50 and 32.50 for half plots to 52.00 and 65.00 for full plots. I have two half plots my rent is £65 and it's a big plot.
Water is on a metre but the cost isn't particularly high each year, plot holders are encouraged to save water, recycle, put in guttering to run water off sheds and GH's. We get free bark, there are two car parks, bike racks, a picnic area. We get a skip each year. Have communial bonfires although plot holders can burn stuff on their plots.
I wonder if there is a way to meter the water but so each plot holder pays for their own use? That would reduce my costs considerably but others may not be so happy with that.
I also feel like I have put too much work into my plot to abandon it. I was informed by the allotment manager from the council and the person who had vacated the plot that they had done so because the bottom third flooded every winter. I have rectified that issue at my own expense and put up a greenhouse with waterbutts.
Of course, according to the contract the rent will go up by '...at least 5%'each year, so at some point will be become unworkable for some or all on the site.
Posts
"You don't stop gardening because you get old, you get old because you stop gardening." - The Hampshire Hog
I copied this from a council website for a village local to OH's cottage in Norfolk.
"We currently have 23, single and double plots and there is usually a waiting list for new plots.
They cost from £8.75 – £42 for the largest plot, a £50 deposit is required when taking a new plot."
Another quote from a nearby town "Annual subscription for a whole plot (approx. 30’ x 90’) is currently £30, although most are now split in half (approx. 45’ x 30’) due to the high demand for plots. The annual subscription for a half plot is currently £18." Those plots have water and hosepipes from April to October. There is a waiting list.
Seems a lot cheaper than yours, Victoria.
https://www.allaboutallotments.co.uk/associations-north-east
there are various sizes from approx 60sm to 250sm. The councils ruling is you can only rent a total of 250sm and the charge this year has gone up to 35p per sm, so the largest plot 250sm rent is £87.50 and 3 years ago they stopped the 60 years of age discount of 50% and changed it to a discount of 25% for any one if you can prove you are receiving a benefit on a list they provide.
we do not pay for mains water from the water tanks on each site but they stopped providing skips about 4 years ago. We do get deliveries of soil conditioner which is decomposed green stuff etc that households has collected each fortnight and we also can have chipping delivered from any trees that are taken down around the town, but the association for all the sites was being charged £20 per load and that has now gone up to £30 per load, if the site is a big one, then double loads are ordered of each, which last year cost the association nearly £2000 and this cost is not passed onto the tenants, it has to come out of a £11000 budget (that has not gone up for 2years) that the council allows that covers for all sorts of things that needs to be repaired replaced or put in new for all the sites.
there may be a charge on your rent for mains water, but this should be pro-rated for the size of the plot, not everyone the same. The increase sounds very excessive, but they may have done it to stop plots being rented if they want the site for building homes.
Ask the question of the council, when was the tenants advised of the large increases and how as you did not know and you have looked at your tenancy agreement and the increase is not what is stated as allowed i.e. 4%.
Has there been a revamp of the tenancy agreement and was you sent the old one when you changed your plot.
I would have thought that the tenants would have had to have 12months notice of any large changes to what you are paying for in your rent.
i hope you get it sorted, good luck.
I rang the council today.
Firstly, the bill is correct, £165.50, there hasn't been an error. The council is no longer subsidising the allotments.
With regards the comparison of neighbouring authority plot prices and being at the lower end of the scale. I got a non-commital reply, so thank you for the link above Flinster, looks like I'll have to collect the data myself.
With regards the water bill, I was told they didn't think it was metered. It isn't metered, I said. Can I see a copy of the bill. I don't have it, was the reply. I'll have to get in touch with Northumbria water on that one.
I was told someone would ring me back about the water bill but they didn't say when and I think I was being fobbed off.
Thank you for all your information above 4560.
The contract states a minimum 28 days notice must be given of increases. A letter was sent out explaining the charges were being reviewed, it didn't say increased, but that's what it meant. I like transparency, so to me it doesn't justify a 400% increase but others would say that counts as due warning.
My next plot neighbour suggested the increases may be a way of removing us. There was talk of a road being put through the land to the rear of the plots. Again, a more appropriate way of dealing with that would be to give us notice and put our names down elsewhere. If I can establish that all plot rents have gone up around the same amount (allowing for water bills) in the area, that will be a start.
I will ask at my old site if I see anyone and I will visit other sites in the area. If I can collate some data I might pass it onto my local MP. They put a card through my door asking for local issues, well here's one!
It might be easier to just pay my bill and shut up but I'll see how long my steam lasts 😀
Thanks again for your comments and help.
Our experience with the council is a good one. There is a a contact person at the council if any issues arise and visa versa. The council are kept informed, for instance with tree's and have access 24/7. The site runs parallel to a wood and the railway embankment, consequently we decided on having a tree management plan so we do our own coppicing and manage boundary hedging. The council lets us get on with it.
We work with 'friends of the wood' and the local community. If there are any issues with tree's we inform the council after seeking advise from local tree surgeons. The council agree usually with our solutions.
Rent hasn't gone up for the past two years. There are four bands, depending on size of plot. ranging from, I think 25.50 and 32.50 for half plots to 52.00 and 65.00 for full plots. I have two half plots my rent is £65 and it's a big plot.
Water is on a metre but the cost isn't particularly high each year, plot holders are encouraged to save water, recycle, put in guttering to run water off sheds and GH's. We get free bark, there are two car parks, bike racks, a picnic area. We get a skip each year. Have communial bonfires although plot holders can burn stuff on their plots.
I wonder if there is a way to meter the water but so each plot holder pays for their own use? That would reduce my costs considerably but others may not be so happy with that.
I also feel like I have put too much work into my plot to abandon it. I was informed by the allotment manager from the council and the person who had vacated the plot that they had done so because the bottom third flooded every winter. I have rectified that issue at my own expense and put up a greenhouse with waterbutts.
Of course, according to the contract the rent will go up by '...at least 5%'each year, so at some point will be become unworkable for some or all on the site.