Topic: how good is your council with your lottie

[sims girl]

 ours provides us with water and that is it [North Wales] ;)

[ceres]

Ours is on land given by Royal Warrant to the 'labouring classes' by the King in 1921 so we run it ourselves.  We have no mains water, we pump it up from underground using old-fashioned cast-iron horse pumps.  You use water very economically when it's hard graft to get it!  We have a number of brick buildings used for storage, lock-ups and a Sunday morning shop and cafe with home baking donated by plotholders.  We have a composting toilet built by talented plot-holders.  Basically, if we want anything, we do it ourselves or do without!

[Robert_Brenchley]

They're OK on the whole, but under-resourced. We get water, and moans about the bills costing more than the total taken in rent! We do more and more ourselves, and now get skips regularly for rubbish that can't be burnt. They recently brought in stupid rules banning hosepipes, and fires between the end of March and the beginning of November. they could perfectly well have made sensible rules banning hoses during bans (which don't seem to apply to allotments) and fires during droughts, and people would probably have respected them. As it is, they're treated with well-deserved contempt. Ill be having an illegal blaze myself before long.

[ceres]

We do our own skips too twice a year.  We just introduced the 'no burning on plots' rule between 1st April and 31st October.  Burning is still alowed using the site incinerator - very tall brick-built chimney that disperses the smoke up and away from ground level.  I'm in favour of the rule.  On two sides of our boundary there are houses and on one side a cricket club and we get endless complaints about the smoke nuisance which I do have sympathy with.  I'm asthmatic so if someone starts burning on a plot nearby and it blows my way, I have to leave.     

[kt.]

Ours provide water though they did provide me with 3 skips to clear my plot.  It was an exception to the rule due its derelict condition.  Skips are usually paid for from our own funds.   Just about everything else is paid for from our rent and income generated from the shop.  Fences, skips.  There is a building we use for the lottie shop.  We get 2 plots rent free I believe, this is our nursery which supplements our funding.   Most things are done by willing volunteers.  We do always have a council rep at our annual meetings.  They also recently took unmotivated plot holders to court for eviction from the plots.  Council won.  1 person off 3 plots, 3 new plot holders due on.

No complaints really.  Though I would like free wood chippings for paths etc as some councils freely provide.

[Robert_Brenchley]

We've had no complaints about bonfires at all; it's a situation where there have been a couple of fires on sites due to people burning during droughts. That's why I feel a more flexible rule would have been better, sepecially since everyone has long hedges to cut, and corresponding piles of cuttings.

[Oldhippy]

As in many things common sense would solve a lot. People who make great smoky fires of wet vegetation spoil it for those of us who have occasional small bright fires.
People who `splash it all over` and leave hosepipes and sprinklers running do a disservice to those who use water carefully just where it`s needed.
Hey ho!

[Sinbad7]

I would think our council is very good where allotments are concerned.  The site I am on run's itself so not much contact with the council.  But it never fails to amaze me to hear people complaining about their rent.  And how they expect the council to do everything for them.

I know allotments are hard work and if you don't want a bit of hard graft why take on an allotment and you're not doing anyone any favours by taking an allotment as I would think most council's would rather sell off the land for development.

I do know for the council to rotavate a plot in our borough costs them £40, so they're not making much profit from your rent, to say nothing of the water costs, plus adminstration costs.

I honestly think renting an allotment has to be the best value going for a hobby.

Sinbad

[glosterwomble]

...I know allotments are hard work and if you don't want a bit of hard graft why take on an allotment and you're not doing anyone any favours by taking an allotment as I would think most council's would rather sell off the land for development.
I do know for the council to rotavate a plot in our borough costs them £40, so they're not making much profit from your rent, to say nothing of the water costs, plus adminstration costs.

I honestly think renting an allotment has to be the best value going for a hobby.

Sinbad

I agree Sinbad, it anoys me that our council don't do anything but I have to remind myself that it is amazing value for money to be able to rent a plot of land at such a low cost! It would be nice if they put some wood chippings on the muddy track to make it easier to drive on and not like a cross country rally drive!

[Sinbad7]

Just a thought glosterwomble, but have you asked the guys that do local tree work and have the shredder on the back of their truck if they'd be willing to tip a load down your site?  We did this and now get free wood chips delivered to us on a regular basis free of charge.

Sinbad

[glosterwomble]

Thanks Sinbad, I'll do that!  ;D