Author Topic: How long did you have to wait (Read 8234 times)

Si D · « **Reply #20 on:** August 24, 2007, 20:55:40 »

The first couple of sites that I looked at were full. The one I'm on (which turned out to be coloser to home - i just didn't know it existed), I got the plot the day I phoned up to enquire if any were free. Of the 89 plots I think 43 are taken.

A change in post code doesn't just change house prices it seems!

SueSteve · « **Reply #21 on:** September 03, 2007, 21:54:02 »

I put my name down for the council allotments in Feb this year, I was told that I was top of the list, and in April I would get a phonecall to choose a plot! I had previously had a look round, spoke to the 'locals' and told that there were at least 7 vacant. I was so excited, we it came to April, everyday I waited for the phone call, checked the post etc. Nothing. I phoned the council, they had now passed the environment part, which included Allotments, over to a private company, I asked them to phone me back. I had a phone call while in the garden, missed the call, kicked myself!! Phoned back, the lady who had phoned me no longer had the job! That was a quick turnaround in 40mins!!

Anyway, a man phoned me the following day to say that I was 17th on the list!! I said that I was told that I was 1st! Some confusion apparently! I was 1st on the list for the allotments that I had requested, but there was a general list where people had not specified!! He would be offering lots of allotments in the week, and I should move up the list quickly, to phone him in 2 weeks if I hadn't heard anything!
In the mean time I got another allotment at another site....
At the same time as I put my name down for the council allotment, I also put my name down for the parish allotments in the next parish, bingo, we got an allotment, as promised in April.

Just to see what was happening I phoned the council at the end of April, I spoke to a woman, the man who deal swith allotments wasn't available, they had offered around 15 allotments, and if I was 17th then that would mean that I would hear very soon because she knew that some people had changed their minds when they saw the state of the plots. "Give it until Whit and then give us a call if you havent heard anything"!!
I was busy at my lottie (only v. small), enjoying everything. We planted it up and decided that we would really like another plot, so in June I called the council again, spoke to same woman, she couldn't help very much, but letters had gone out to some people who had failed to pay in April, they have 2 weeks to respond, so you should hear within a month!
In July I phoned, spoke to the man, finally, the one who could tell me where I was on the list!! I was 18th!!!! I give up!

Sometime in the future I might be offered a plot at the council site, but I won't hold my breathe! I spoke to a lady who has a plot there, they recently had a meeting with teh council about various issues, she said apparently there are 7 empty plots and 95 on the list! she can't understand why the plots aren't being rented out!
(The council sites allow you to grow fruit, have sheds, and they have bigger plots, it's also closer to home) I do have my name down for another plot where we are, so hopefully we will be able to expand a little next year anyway.

glosterwomble · « **Reply #22 on:** September 05, 2007, 08:42:50 »

When you say council owned plots Sue do you mean they are run by Accord?? We are on a plot in the Gloucester city itself and it is run by Accord on behalf of the council ... they are USELESS!!!! And I don't say that lightly! We were given a plot in November and told that we wouldn't be charged rent from then until April because it was so overgrown, in April we received a bill for the forthcoming year which I paid, then a week later another bill because they realised they hadn't charged me for the period from Nov to April. I obviously argued the point and they said the company structure had changed and that although they had said it would be free they had changed their mind!!!!! :o So I told them that was fine, who should I send my bill to for clearing their totally overgrown plot including the costs of me hiring a strimmer and the man hours etc.... they backed down!!!

We are told that our site has 90 or so on waiting list but the site is 60-70% overgrown with only a handful of the 70 or so plots being used.

I phoned to see if we could take on the plot next to us which is totally overgrown but have been told they have been assigned to people! ???

Something in these organisations is drastically wrong!

saddad · « **Reply #23 on:** September 06, 2007, 20:32:57 »

What on earth are a council doing putting out allotments to a private company !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are a private company who own our allotments but ......
You have my sympathy.
>:(

glosterwomble · « **Reply #24 on:** September 06, 2007, 21:36:33 »

Thanks Saddad, it is crazy, they are responsible for the 10 allotment sites accross Gloucester but as far as I am aware they don't do anything! Sad state of affairs. :(

SnooziSuzi · « **Reply #25 on:** September 07, 2007, 21:49:52 »

Time to get some like minded gardeners together to buy a field and turn it into plots yourself then I rekon!

I know that the councils have an obligation to make plots available if there is enough demand (and 95 on a list says there is!) but do they council have an obligation to provide more sites if the original number isn't enough?

saddad · « **Reply #26 on:** September 07, 2007, 22:53:32 »

That's exactly how we were set up in 1920.. Suzi...
Technically yes they do... but try getting them to do it!!!
>:(

SueSteve · « **Reply #27 on:** September 08, 2007, 07:40:52 »

Quote from: glosterwomble on September 05, 2007, 08:42:50

When you say council owned plots Sue do you mean they are run by Accord??

Yes, Accord, pain in the ****.
I mentioned it to a friend recently who lives in Qued, she h had problems with them as well.
Buying a field sounds like a good idea, but where can we find a cheap enough field close enough?

Cuke · « **Reply #28 on:** September 16, 2007, 09:42:56 »

Oh bugger... :(

I was going to phone up and try and get a Gloucester plot tomorrow (I'm getting itchy feed waiting for one at Upton) I didn't think the waiting list would be 95 people long... :(

Can either of the Gloucester'ites here tell me what the name is of the plots off Painswick Road are called? I kind of assume it's the Saintbridge ones but I'm not sure... They seem to be the closest to home...

It beggers belief how anyone can screw up somthing as simple as a waiting list... People get aded to the end of it when they apply and as plots become available you take the people off the top... How hard can it be!

glosterwomble · « **Reply #29 on:** September 16, 2007, 18:18:13 »

Quote from: Cuke on September 16, 2007, 09:42:56

...Can either of the Gloucester'ites here tell me what the name is of the plots off Painswick Road are called? I kind of assume it's the Saintbridge ones but I'm not sure... They seem to be the closest to home...

It beggers belief how anyone can screw up somthing as simple as a waiting list... People get aded to the end of it when they apply and as plots become available you take the people off the top... How hard can it be!

Hi Cuke, you're right, the Painswick rd. plots are called Saintbridge, we went to look at them when we were choosing where to have a plot and they seemed ok. only prob is that they are very open and there have been a couple of vandalism episodes lately but then that can be a problem anywhere.

And as for the waiting list farce...it really does defy belief that a contractor working for the council can be so bad at there job!

Cuke · « **Reply #30 on:** September 17, 2007, 07:52:50 »

Hey Mr Womble :)

We went and looked at the Saintbridge ones and the Hawthorns ones yesterday just out of interest and didn't like the look of the Saintbridge ones at all, all of the ones we saw looked very badly cared for and the site just had a bit of a scrappy vibe to it. We liked the look of the Hawthorns one though, seems much more what we were expecting. Think we even spied your plot sat there looking very tidy and well cared for.

I'm going to phone the number I found online for the allotment people and see what the waiting list looks like at the mo, there did seem to be a number of unused plots at Hawthorns despite the huge waiting list.

glosterwomble · « **Reply #31 on:** September 17, 2007, 16:37:26 »

Hi Cuke, glad you liked my plot!! ;D The site is a nice one, it is quite peaceful up there generally. It's worth giving them a call and asking how long the wait would be. Which end did you come in from?? If you came through the big 5 bar vehicle gate then the field you walked through before coming into the site where we are is also allotments although nobody is cultivating it yet. If they say there are no spaces ask them about this area, be firm with them!! ::) The more I hear about Accord the more I wish they didn't run our allotment site!! When you call don't take no for an answer, they try to fob you off but insist on an answer for how long the wait is etc. they are after an easy life and we've been there since November last year and hardly anyone new has come onto the site so there MUST be available plots!

Good luck! :D

SueSteve · « **Reply #32 on:** September 17, 2007, 17:18:13 »

Hi Cuke,
So how did you get on with Accord??
Sue

Cuke · « **Reply #33 on:** September 17, 2007, 19:57:26 »

lol would you believe it, the lady is on holiday till Thurs...

They took my details though and said she would call back, I'll give her till lunch time Friday then give her another call... :)

Yep, GloucesterWomble, I'll keep on at them, I don't mind creating a fuss when the need arises :)
I'll say I've been down there and there is load of un-used plots and if they have been allocated then whoever they've been alocated to isn't using them etc etc... And yeah, we came through the 'field' so I'll mention them, although I'd feel a bit lonely if we were the only ones on there! lol

electric landlady · « **Reply #34 on:** September 18, 2007, 12:41:26 »

It took me about 3 months to get a plot but 2 and a half of those were spent trying to find out who to contact to get one. The Council owns the land but most of the sites are managed by allotment committees, and the Council was unable to supply an up to date list of contacts and seemed in total ignorance of anything allotment related....boo to them!

Eventually I got in touch with the right person by posting on this board...so a big thankyou to this board for existing! :)

I was very lucky in that it just happened to be the time of year when contracts were ending and people giving up their plots, and they had a half plot going and everyone else on the list wanted a full plot, otherwise I would probably not have got a plot for a year or so.

Cuke · « **Reply #35 on:** September 21, 2007, 13:42:05 »

Well that was a waste of time...

Having waited till Friday lunchtime as I said I would and still had no call back I rang the lady at Accord... To cut a long story short here's the basic points...

They've only been in charge of the Allotments since Feb and are 'still getting to grips with it'...

They would have been all sorted by now but of course the floods put things back... (how did the floods effect the organisation and maintenance of a waiting list???)

Every site has a long waiting list but the Hawthorns ones do have the shortest. (mini yay!)

Yes, even though there are unused plots and a whole second unused field there IS still a wiating list... (apparently 'some of the field has been allocated' not that that explains why people haven't been allowed on the rest of it or why NONE of it looks like its been tended in years...)

No, she couldn't tell me what number on the list I was, only promise that I was now on it. And there was no point calling back as I'd be contacted as and when a plot became available...

Great...
It baffles me why this is complicated... You know how many plots you have, you know how many are currently rented out. You give people plots till you run out on a first come first served basis and then start a waiting list when you run out, telling each person what number they are at. As plots become available you give them to the people at the top of the list. If rented plots are unused then contact the owner and check they're needed...

Surely that would take about an hour to set up and then a couple of minutes a week to maintain... :(

ho hum... I go back the waiting.... ;)

glosterwomble · « **Reply #36 on:** September 21, 2007, 13:53:19 »

Oh my god Cuke I feel angry for you!!! >:( :o They are the most USELESS organisation I have EVER had the misfortune to be involved with!!

I think you should have insisted to be told what number on the list you were and remind her that the council has a legal obligation to provide plots and you would like to know how long you have to wait.

AAAGGGHH!!! (... can you tell I don't like them! ::) )

Cuke · « **Reply #37 on:** September 21, 2007, 14:14:29 »

I did almost press her for a number but by that point I realised I'd probably end up doing it in a hugely patronising way ('Let me help, pick up the list, use your index finger to go down the list counting as you get to each new name, take the total and add 1 to it, now tell me that number... There, easy wasnt it') and find myself scrubbed off the end as soon as I put the phone down... ;)

There didn't seem a lot of point getting pissy about it. To be honest she sounded like she'd given this speech a few times before so I doubt I'm the first person to phone up and ask the same questions. As soon as I mentioned allotments she was on the defensive and just seemed to want to blame the floods and the length of time they've been in charge for everything and say they were looking to sort it all out. She clearly didn't want to be drawn on the availabilty of the second field despite me trying to ask about it on at least three occasion, instead she spent her time implying that any unused space had been allocated, neatly covering herself against any 'but what about...' questions I wanted to ask.

The silly thing was, had she just said 'It's all a bit of a mess but we're sorting it out now and chasing up lapsed plot owners and trying to get the place sorted' I'd have been content. It was the 'everything is already rented' and the mess isn't our fault type vibe that annoyed me. I even said I'd been there have a look at the site so how she thought I'd buy her claims that they were all in use is beyond me...

It's tempting to take a picture of that unused field and send it to her and ask exactly which bits are currently rented out and in use....

grrrr!

glosterwomble · « **Reply #38 on:** September 21, 2007, 14:32:02 »

Cuke, I completley agree with you, I have had several chats with this woman and I agree that if they were just honest then you would have more respect. When I rang recently and said 'Hi I'm ringing about the Hawthorn site' you could even hear her sigh!!!

'grrrr' is not a strong enough word!!!

manicscousers · « **Reply #39 on:** September 21, 2007, 14:42:02 »

isn't there a local councillor you could get in touch with? :)

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Author Topic: How long did you have to wait (Read 8234 times)