Author Topic: Need a bit of advice please  (Read 5005 times)

dawn123

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Need a bit of advice please
« on: September 18, 2008, 17:54:26 »
Hey i was just wondering if the MC can ban you from an allotment with out the council's permission?  ???

electric landlady

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2008, 18:03:54 »
Hello Dawn

Depends on the constitution of your allotment committee and whether it is them or the council who allocate plots/manage the tenancies etc. Usually it is the committee if there is one.

By "ban" do you mean evict from a plot? Whether they can do this will depend on the terms of the tenancy agreement and whether/how a tenant has breached it. A committee won't usually need the permission of the council to evict a tenant who has breached their agreement.

If you mean "ban" as in prevent from entering the site completely, whether a tenant or not, this is pretty extreme and not something an allotment committee would be likely to try and do without the involvement of the police I would think.

Hope this answers your question.  :)
« Last Edit: September 18, 2008, 18:05:37 by electric landlady »

flossy

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2008, 18:43:23 »

  Sorry to be ignorant, but what is the MC  --  and what do they do ?

  being banned sounds a bit drastic - so's people on here can help --  what happend ?

  Floss xxx
Hertfordshire,   south east England

saddad

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2008, 19:50:36 »
I presume it is the site's management committee......  :-\

Mr Smith

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2008, 20:22:23 »
If I was paying rent to the council for my allotment and the MC or any other elected body  that does not come under the councils jurisdiction made a decision to ban or keep me away from my lotty would be given two fingers :)

Trevor_D

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2008, 20:34:02 »
Dawn, if we can give you advice, we need more info. All sites are different.

dawn123

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2008, 22:43:15 »
Sorry to take so long. a plot holder who also is the secretary assulted another plot holder, and the seretary was physicaly and verbaly abussing another plot holder, as i went to help the plot holder i was pushed by the secretarys girlfriend, and was a witness to the police. in the letter i have recived dated from 3 month's ago which i have only recived today, states i made the stiuation worse because of my comment's i did not say anything, i have been temparaly banned till april 2009, untill the MC have had a meeting which is in april 2009. it is self govened but council land, nothing has been done with the secretary and he is still on the MC and he has been arested by the police. Thank's Dawn

thifasmom

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #7 on: September 18, 2008, 23:52:09 »
crikey that a long time to wait for a meeting you would think following something that serious they would want to bring the meeting closer to date or at least have an emergency meeting before the end of the year. out of interest when does your contract/ lease end?

betula

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #8 on: September 19, 2008, 00:09:17 »
If the secretary was part of a meeting that decided to ban you t,this is grossly unfair.You need to find out who actually banned you.

Not sure how it works but can,t an extraordinary meeting be called,and surely the secretary can not be allowed a vote in something he was personally involved with.

What do your fellow plotholders think?Are there people who will support you.If so maybe you could call a meeting of the plot holders and invite the committee and see if you can get this sorted out.

I would fight this tooth and nail if I was sure I was in the right.

Eristic

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #9 on: September 19, 2008, 00:52:04 »
Is it just me getting old and grumpy or are we suddenly getting a steady supply of new members who join up just as a last hope of saving themselves from being evicted from their plot.

betula

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #10 on: September 19, 2008, 01:03:56 »
Well life on the plot is not always the wonderful thing it is portrayed to be.

Sometimes people need to talk about their problems. :)

growmore

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #11 on: September 19, 2008, 10:48:49 »
Are you a tennant of a  plot on that particular site?.
Cheers .. Jim

kt.

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #12 on: September 19, 2008, 12:04:15 »
If you are to be banned and things are as you say, then the secretary should also be banned if they were doing the assault.  If your rent is paid then I do not see how you can be banned when you have already paid in advance. If you are to be banned until this meeting, then so should all others involved and the secretary should be suspended from post.  If the secretary was involved in the alledged incident,  I would say he should be unable  to vote in any matter relating to the original incident.

You should of been informed about any meeting that would involve you.  This would allow you to be present and offer a defence.  If you were a witness for the police and never prosecuted for any offence,  then I would say there is no case to answer.  I would be contacting the council with a copy of the banning letter and police case number that highlights you as a witness and not the accused.  All of the above is my opinion based on face value from what I have read so far on this post.
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amphibian

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #13 on: September 19, 2008, 13:13:59 »
If you are a police witness and the secretary is in anyway involved with your banning, then I would immediately contact the police as this may well constitute a criminal offence, that of harassing a witness.

dawn123

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #14 on: September 19, 2008, 13:30:41 »
it is my husdand who is the plot holder and he said i am just a visiter i have reported this to the council and asked why they have took so long in the ban the mc never come down to there plots has one off them gave the secretary the statments we put in and as we have said all the plot holders that he should not have done this they have turned dirty with us i am sorry to keep asking but can you please help me thanks dawn

Mr Smith

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #15 on: September 19, 2008, 13:55:48 »
Dawn, reading your above post if I was the council or landowner I would have the lot of you off those allotments for fighting and a public order offence. 

Old bird

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #16 on: September 19, 2008, 15:21:26 »
Dawn - as your husband is the legitimate plot holder - has he actually been banned or is it just you?  In theory if you are not a plot holder then they possibly are within their rights although I accept that the Secretary should not have been involved in the meeting banning you. 

Is the secretary a plot holder or a wife/husband of a plot holder?

Old Bird

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electric landlady

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #17 on: September 19, 2008, 18:06:55 »
Blimey! Are you sure you want to go there anyway if things are that contentious?

As you're not a tenant you have no automatic right to be on the land even though your husband does. The person/body in charge of the land does generally have the right to refuse non-tenants permission to enter the land, unless they are bound by some legal obligation to let them on (for example if there is a public right of way running through the site). However "banning" someone from land can be a complicated business in practice.

If you really want to know where you stand, you will be best off getting a copy of the constitution, husband's tenancy agreement, any police reports, the letter banning you and any other letters etc and taking them all down to a CAB or maybe a solicitor (many will do you a free half hour of advice).

But is it really worth challenging this? Could well be a total nightmare and just make things even worse. The secretary's involvement in the meeting does sound unfair, but sadly "unfair" is not the same thing as "unlawful" - so I would be really sure it's what you want and of your legal ground before you tackle them about it.

Good luck!

Bill Door

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #18 on: September 19, 2008, 19:13:37 »
You could get advice from the CAB. Find out if your husband has a right to invite you onto the site.  Find out if the committee can ban you.  Find out what actions their "constitution" says they must do in these circumstances.  If they must have a meeting to ban anyone then request the minutes of the meeting.

Provided your husband can still enter the allotment to keep his plot in order, stay away until the meeting.  Also get advice from CAB.

You could write to the secretary and request full details in writing of the written/verbal accusation against you.  Remember this is not a letter to get mad in.  You are requesting the facts as they have them.  It would not hurt for you to present the facts as you saw them, naming names and what happened in your request letter.  Do it on the computer and keeps several paper copies. Tell them you need it by 30 November 2008.

If you don't get it you could write to them again with a copy to the council.  If you write the first letter in a reasonable way then the council will read it as a matter of fact  You could refer to the statement that you gave to the police.  Then consult the CAB.

Above all it will be important to remember the old saying "Don't get mad get even".

Finally discuss with husband and see if he agrees that you take action on this.

Personally in your position I would do nothing and wait for the ban to finish and then go back on the site and say nothing.  They want you to react and make it easier to get rid of you.  They probably want others off the site as well.

Good luck and which ever way you jump have a big smile and don't let the b****rs get you down.


Bill

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Re: Need a bit of advice please
« Reply #19 on: September 19, 2008, 22:36:28 »
You need legal advice on this, and the CAB is a good place to start. For a start, the secretary has committed a criminal offence against you. Have you witnesses who are willing to make statements? Who is ultimately responsible for the site?

I went through something like that myself some years ago, only it wasn't so severe. I was thrown off the site Association for 'bringing it into disrepute'. The ultimate reason was that I had a minor disagreement with a certain committee member, who then started a campaign against me, along with her husband, the Secretary. Eventually we gotr a new committee, and I'm once again a committee member. that was nasty, but only the Council have the authority to evict anyone from Birmingham allotments (and just as well too!), so it never reached that stage. I don't agree with having an all-powerful committee, there should always be someone you can appeal to without having to go to the law. But try the CAB, and see what they say.

 

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