Topic: Allotment restrictions

[amphibian]

Ace idea, you could grow cordon goosegobs, red & white currants & all your cane fruits as well. You could surruond yourself!

And a huge wall of Jersualem Artichokes.

I take my 3 year old daughter to my allotment, and all my neighbours have been friendly and supportive towards this.

I have a swing for her, and intend to put in a sandpit, fortunatley our allotment clerk at teh council is lovely, and waives rather than enfrorces the daft rules.



I discovered some distinct advantages to allotment ownership recently; I was looking around a house that I was intending to rent, and I could tell the landlord was trying to disuade me. She clearly thought me a scummy hippy reprobate, this was until I mentioned having an allotment, suddenly her demeanour changed, and she revealed she had one also. From that point on we talked vegetables and soil and everything went rosily, we are moving in in a week, and it is much closer my allotment.

Something I particulary enjoy about allotments is standing around with my neighbours and talking: old timers, hippies, immigrants, wealthy, poor all talking; people that would often not, in normal life, interact. It's a pity that not everyone on your allotment is on mine.

I wish you luck, and stand firm..

[AikenDrum]

EmmaLou , firstly , keep on fighting the good fight !

Secondly , a possible solution to a couple of your problems could be to build a large chest type storage box in which to keep your tools, a couple of folding chairs, some toys for the lilttle 'un (a raspberry blower for the neighbours ?) etc.
Also, you could build a raised bed at bum-sitting height and put a plank of wood along one edge, voila !  a bench, and lill'un would have a junior level little lottie to potter about in in bliss   {:¬)#

[AikenDrum]

Wondering when a vertical storage area becomes a shed  ....hmmmm

[AikenDrum]

wardy, was just playing with the idea, would call it an enclosed, lockable tool rack if I had somebody like that to deal with on my Council.   {:¬)#

[dirtyfingernails]

Can't believe that woman Emma - how dare she ask why your daughter's not in nursery! (blooming cheek) and ditto what everyone else says about kids on allotments - I often go with my 3 year old nephew, the older he gets the more into it he is, he got upset yesterday when we only had an hour, he "want to do some more work!" next year we're going to make him his own raised bed and he's already said that he wants to grow "blue carrots" (hmm not sure if dobies do them?) - all the other allotment people are very friendly and make a fuss of him, everyone has said how nice it is to see young people up there and I love it that there's such a good mix of generations.

anyway, your council will have a formal complaints procedure that you can go through, it maybe that this woman is just in the wrong job and her boss will put her straight, how can anyone in their right minds object. and getting on the allotment association is also a good idea, bet you're not the only one who wants to make it a more sociable place.

good luck!

 

[karrot]

not even been aloud a shed, i wouldnt be able to continue with my lottie without mine. It was the first thing i put up there, came out my back garden (now have gapeing hole) in it i keep, ALL bob the builder trucks, large digger, folding slide, small unfoldable chairs, childs plastic wheelbarrow & tools, very large tunnel & tent, all donated by friends.

oh yer and a spade!

[EmmaLou]

People who are not allowed sheds sink hole etc and put a door on a call it a shed. 

That sounds like a good idea! Not sure I fancy digging a big hole!  :o

[Svea]

yoou could always remain silent about its purpose when someone asks you. just wiggle with your eyebrows and look ominous

;D

[EmmaLou]

Not really sure how they knew about the swing - maybe they do a check of the whole site just before the rents are due in. I do know that the town warden has a plot there... maybe it was the guy who didn't say hello to me? Who knows? - I'm not really about to blame anyone. All I know is I obviously can't get away with stuff without the big bosses finding out. I just wish I knew for definite what things I can't do at my allotment. It would make life for everyone easier!

[Emma K]

I can't believe how ridiculous the whole shed swing thing is  - how else are you to encourage children to enjoy gardening and being in the open. My kids are often down at the plot with me, and have their own beds (Which they have apparently just started digging!), and as long as they stick to the big paths around the site they are welcomed - You should copy all of the comments in the forum and send them to her!!

good luck in your battle

Emma K

[colleenemp]

Have new shed plan with lottie neighbour...we have a large crab apple tree (huge thing surrounding residents demand it stays - hurrah) and we shall hide our shed within it...plans afoot to install gradually under cover of darkness and 'quiet' frost ridden months.... Never knew having an allotment would be so filled with derring do and illicit shenanigans...

[Melbourne12]

I was rather taken aback the other day to find that we have a similar problem.  The very pleasant couple on the plot next to ours put up a small shed a couple of months ago.  I rather liked the look of it, since although it was quite tiny, it had an extended roof just big enough for two people to sit and have a mug of tea during a rain shower.

I thought I might do something similar.

But in the last couple of weeks the shed has been torn down.  I haven’t seen our neighbouring lottie holders, but one of the “old brigade” gave me the story.  Apparently a bad-tempered gent in one of the houses opposite the allotments constantly writes letters of complaint to the council.  He’s not an allotment holder himself, of course, and is just a whinger.  He had complained about the shed until eventually the council asked for it to be removed.

Even worse, one of the allotment holders had been told to remove a cold frame that he’d made out of old windows!  The same guy had complained and complained about its unsightliness until the council got fed up with him and gave in.

I think I might have a little word, and maybe tell a bit of a porkie.  I think that I’ll be very sympathetic, and say that although I enjoy my allotment, I support the council’s decision to change the usage of the land.  After all, it’s very wrong that gypsies have nowhere to live, and they deserve a nice site like this.   ;D ;D ;D ;D

[BAGGY]

Like it  ;D

[daisymay]

I assume the allotment was there before his house?! most have been around for years and years haven't they?

why buy a house next to an allotment and then whinge about there being an allotment next door!! DOH!!

Ours has a house over looking it. I can see right into their kitchen and their back door is about 1m from the fence. I cannot decide whether I should attempt to be friendly, they have always totally blanked me.

[MikeB]

Colleen

When you say you'll hide the shed within, are you talking about a tree house shed?  That would drive the local council mad.

[EmmaLou]

I support the council’s decision to change the usage of the land. After all, it’s very wrong that gypsies have nowhere to live, and they deserve a nice site like this. ;D ;D ;D ;D

Lol  ;D

One of the houses opposite our allotments has a really scruffy garden - really brings down to the tone of the place. Think I might go and complain to the council until they sort it out! (Did I sound convincing?  ;D lol)

After mentioning your problem Melbourne12, I now think that maybe that is why the council basically say my swing is ugly - they've probably had loads of complaints from the houses opposite. Hmm?

I wonder how they would feel if the Council sold the land and allowed a load of garish overpriced modern flats to be put opposite their houses, which seems to be the thing happening around here at the moment? We already lost another allotment site to a housing estate.

I would love to live opposite the allotments and I wouldn't care what was on them - I think it is fantastic how people manage to recycle the most strangest things to use on their lotties. At least the stuff isn't going into land fills.

I'm sure these people are jealous of our beautiful plots!

[redimp]

The residents near our plots campaigned and got a no fires during daylight rule but they can and do have fires whenever they want.

[Robert_Brenchley]

If local residents are making trouble like that the answer is to beeven more obstreperous than they are. Contact the local rag, councillors, your MP, anyone you can think of. If you can cause enough embarassment, they'll back off.

[EmmaLou]

Update

Hi guys!

Had a great time at the allotment yesterday. Firstly I managed to complete digging another bed - think I got most of the couch grass out. (funny - just reminded me of the dream I had last night...didn't matter how deep I dug, the couch grass roots were still there!  ???)

Secondly - the man who looked at me funny when I said hello other week, came over to me whilst I was working. Me being paranoid thought I was going to get moaned at, but was nicely surprised when he offered me a load of strawberry runners! Maybe I caught him off guard last time we met? Anyway he was a very nice man.

Thirdly - another man at the allotment started chatting to me...I was trying to dig up some rhubarb at the time and he told me a story of why most of the plots have the rhubarb growing in the same place. Apparently the Rothschild's who gave the field to the poor people, only let them have the plots on the condition that they grew rhubarb as it was very nutritional - hence we still have loads of it! Also I never realised that rhubarb had such long tap roots! He said some of them are 2ft! He also kindly gave me some horse radish and jerusalem artichokes.

I am so glad I spoke to him - turns out he works at the Council office and is on the allotment committee. He updated me on what was going on, which included the news that we are hopefully going to get a toilet installed at the site!  :) He also explained to me that there was a law set by the County Council saying that we couldn't have anything on the allotments over, now I think he said 30cm or 30inches? That was one of the reasons for me not being allowed the swing. But he also said not to worry too much about the swing as he wants to encourage children at the site. They have also appointed a lady onto the committee who has children. That is great news! He gave me loads of other advice and info! I have told him about this forum, so hopefully we will be welcoming him to it in the near future.

Maybe they should have welcoming meetings for new plot holders, so that they can pass on any information like the above. I have found that I can go weeks without actually seeing anyone at the allotment, so miss out on any info like this. Also I didn't get a newsletter until the yearly rent was due, meaning it took nearly 4 months for any info whatsoever! Maybe I will put this to the committee?

Anyway - I now feel a lot more confident that things will improve at our site!

Thank you everyone for your wise words and support!

Emma
:-*

[AikenDrum]

WooHoo !  GREAT news Emma, long live perseverance !    {:¬)#