Topic: £100 per pole

[Ellen K]

^^ ah yes, that is a very interesting can of worms.

Apparently, when it was decided that we could no longer have fires on the site, the council agreed to pay for a skip service from a local company.  So our site (Alan Moss Phase 1) has 2 skips permantly on site.

But they are wildly abused, mostly by plot holders who bring rubbish from home - we can bring our cars on site and you see cars drive up to the skip, the boot open etc.  But also people come on to the site and sling rubbish when they can. 

[grawrc]

A very tricky subject. We pay the council rent and they provide us with the land. Everything else is up to us. So our rent per plot is low (£20 per 6-7 pole plot) and everyone pays the same.

The land would be worth vastly more to the council if it were developed and built on. With my council tax payer hat on I might think: why am I subsidising these people with allotments? There aren't enough allotments for the people that want them but the number of people wanting plots is relatively low compared to the total number of people in the area. So the few are being subsidised by the many, I think.

As an allotment holder I  wouldn't mind paying considerably more than I do at the moment although £6-700 per annum is a bit steep - cheaper than membership of a golf club though. But there are loads of folk on my site that would have to give up their plots if they had to pay that much!!

[Unwashed]

As an allotment holder I  wouldn't mind paying considerably more than I do at the moment although £6-700 per annum is a bit steep.

Grawrc, that £100 per pole thing was some stupid scare-mongering from Newbury Town Council who were trying to pretend that the grow-your-own plots from Wyevale Garden Centres were actually self-managed council allotments.  But for the sake of argument it would be interesting to know how much councils could possibly charge if they wanted to break even.  I suspect Newbury Town Council may well be one of the least efficient councils in the country with a break-even rate of around £45 per pole.

[tonybloke]

^^ ah yes, that is a very interesting can of worms.

Apparently, when it was decided that we could no longer have fires on the site, the council agreed to pay for a skip service from a local company.  So our site (Alan Moss Phase 1) has 2 skips permantly on site.

But they are wildly abused, mostly by plot holders who bring rubbish from home - we can bring our cars on site and you see cars drive up to the skip, the boot open etc.  But also people come on to the site and sling rubbish when they can. 

there should be no need for either fires or skips on an allotment, ain't you lot heard of composting? everything else must have been transported to the site, so if folk took the non-compostable stuff home...........

[Ellen K]

^^ lol .... just for you Tony, one of our skips (yes, there is a skip under there):

[Digeroo]

I don't think that the local council should be expected to provide skips.   Most of this stuff should be recycled. 

[cornykev]

I'd have most of that lot out and find a corner for it to attract some wild life.      :( :( :(

[Trevor_D]

Don't you police your skips?!?

We've had a skip a year for the past two years - paid out of our own funds, as we're not a Council site - and the loading has been supervised with military precision.

[Ellen K]

Well, I did see a fellow plotholder driving up to the skip last week.  So I walked up to it on some pretext and when they started to unload stuff out of their boot, I said in a very quiet voice "you're not supposed to do that, you know.  That's not what the skip is for".

So their rubbish went back into the boot (I had expected to be told to mind my own business) but now the couple aren't speaking to me.

There is no committee or anyone in charge.  And also there is a culture of people doing what they like which would be difficult to change even if we did have someone.

[tonybloke]

^^ lol .... just for you Tony, one of our skips (yes, there is a skip under there):

most of that should be composted / shredded !

[Robert_Brenchley]

We've got a mass of scrap metal and all sorts of things left from previous generations on the site. Clearing my plot alone took nine trips for a small lorry, which could just get down the lane. We've tried skips, we've tried having a dumping area for scrap metal which was then collected by a dealer. It's the same trouble every time; people bring household rubbish. Last time it was builders' waste.

[taurus]

Just had this years bill  15ft by 60 ft £22.50  thats a half plot here.  Don't no how that compares with other sites.

[gp.girl]

£3.20 per rod, total of £37.60 this year

£3.50 per rod next year (11/12) :(

Loads of notice though ;)

[Unwashed]

Just had this years bill  15ft by 60 ft £22.50  thats a half plot here.  Don't no how that compares with other sites.

That's £6.80 per pole Tarus, well above average.

[taurus]

Thanks Unwashed for working that out for me.  No surprise there then, as we seem to pay through the nose for most things connected with the council.

[Unwashed]

I see Swindon Borough Council charge £4.50 per pole.  Ah, I see - do they charge £22.50 for anything up to a 5 pole plot?

[taurus]

Don't no to be honest Unwashed.  Have never been able to get my head round this pole measure.  It gives you the length not the width.  Have been to other sites in the country and their plots always seem a lot bigger but are still classed as an half plot  ???  ???
We dont received a seperate water bill thats included,  so for less than 50 pence a week I don't feel I have room for complaint.

[jules2]

FOI request to get the details?

They'll refuse, they have declared me to be a vexatious complainant.  I agree that my questions are inconvenient, but that's not quite the same thing.  I could appeal to the Information Commissioner of course, but that would take months.  If what they say is true then I expect someone on here will have heard of it.

Unwashed, I have only just joined this forum but you and I seem to be travelling the same path.

I have to deal with a Parish Council who asked us to form a Society to negotiate with and then refused to talk to us as they didn't like the officials we elected.

I have now also been declared a "vexatious complainant" even though there is no such thing.

My "crime" was to request a meeting with the Chairman of my Parish Council, he ignored my request and declared me vexatious.

My understanding of the FOI is as below.

If you want to refuse using Section 14 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act please say so but remember you can only refuse a request as vexatious not a person as you appear to be trying to do.  If you use this Section I will immediately request an internal review.

You can use Section 14 ( 2 ) against a person but only if they have made repeated requests for the same information which I haven’t.

My Parish Council have increased the rents for concessionary tenants such as OAP's from £5.50 to £30 for a half plot for new tenants even though they have no idea what the allotments cost as they keep no records of expenditure.

I went to their meeting tonight and they can't see what the problem is!

The Parish Clerk who in our case is full time appears to run the show and the Councillors do what they are told.

In December I sent in a perfectly reasonable letter, the clerk denied receiving it, some months later he agreed he had received it but "lost it" and has never apologised.

The Chairman is a prominent Conservative, so much for David Cameron and his "Big Society".

They refuse to meet us or listen to our point of view even though I have quoted the Community Engagement Strategy on the National Association of Local Councils website.



 

[Unwashed]

Hi jules2, and welcome to A4A.  I have to tell you I'm still chuckling as I write this - it's like meeting myself!  Brother, if I can help in any way whatsoever, I will.

Seriously, I can just imagine the reception you got when you gave them the FoI thing.  Wow, do they ever hate empowerment - yes, you know who you are!

Welcome to A4A.  ;D

[Squash64]

Welcome to A4A Jules.

You certainly have a fight on your hands,  reading your post is like reading something from Unwashed.
 
Long live Vexatious Complainants!