Topic: MORE Allotments ... Lobby your MP

[Amazingrotavator(Derby)]

Heard from Margaret Beckett today. She says she does not propose to sign early day motions but will raise it with relevant ministers or officials. She has drawn my comments to the secretary of state for communities and local government,Eric Pickles. She will contact me again when she receives a reply.What a load of tosh!!!

[daveyboi]

Just an update

There are now 57 signatures an increase of 30 since the first post well done everyone.

[betula]

My MP finally responded to my email.

As he is a cabinet ? member he is unable to sign but will contact the relevant person LOL

[Digeroo]

My MP has a large land holding I do not think he needs an allotment ;D 

[saddad]

Heard from Margaret Beckett today. She says she does not propose to sign early day motions but will raise it with relevant ministers or officials. She has drawn my comments to the secretary of state for communities and local government,Eric Pickles. She will contact me again when she receives a reply.What a load of tosh!!!

Do you find our beloved Margaret as much use as me then...  ;D

[pumkinlover]

I have just written to Toby Perkins the MP for Chesterfield.

[asj]

I e-mailed my MP and received a reply from a secretary saying he would like to write to me - replied that I don't do paper.
Thought today I'd try again, as he hasn't signed, so went to They Work For You and found this delightful response!!

Dominic Raab MP has told us not to deliver any messages from the constituents of Esher and Walton. Instead you can try looking them up on the Parliament website. There you will get a phone number, a postal address, and for some MPs a website or way to contact them by email.

Can see this guy is not going to be any better than the last one!

[Amazingrotavator(Derby)]

Heard from Margaret Beckett today. She says she does not propose to sign early day motions but will raise it with relevant ministers or officials. She has drawn my comments to the secretary of state for communities and local government,Eric Pickles. She will contact me again when she receives a reply.What a load of tosh!!!

Do you find our beloved Margaret as much use as me then...  ;D

As much use as a chocolate fire guard. Good job I didn't vote for her ;D

[beanie3]

I just sent mine another message - explaining i sent the original one on the 7th October and heard nothing back.....bunch of monkeys (i didn't add that latter bit!)

[froglets]

No response from MP Fiona Bruce, perhaps I'd get more from Antiques Roadshow Fiona Bruce.

[I love digging]

Okay, done it, let's see if anything happens.

[beanie3]

Wow i only emailed him yesterday (okay was 2nd time of trying) but this is what he said........

>
> Thank you very much for your email.
>
> I am pleased to tell you that I signed the EDM last night. I know how much pleasure people obtain from allotments and they are in my view most definitely a Good Thing. We have a small amount of home-grown vegetables and fruit in our garden at home and obtain a pleasure from them quite disproportionate to the size of the crop! Indeed, some of my earliest memories are sitting in a kitchen garden pulling carrots out of the ground, brushing off the soil and eating them there and then.
>
> I'm not quite so sure about the "private landlords" part of the text but I have signed the EDM anyway. As you know, there is already a statutory obligation on parishes to provide allotments to those who want them. As is often the case, what needs to happen is that the existing law is applied and enforced.
>
> Best wishes
> Yours sincerely
> Richard Bacon

[Digeroo]

Wow I am impressed by this response. But it is a pity that he thinks that the existing statutes are sufficient.  They certainly have not produced any allotments around here.  With zero budget and no local landowner willing to let to the parish council that is the end of allotments: the statutary obligations do not change that.

[Unwashed]

That really is a first class response from Richard Bacon and I applaud him.  IMHO he's right about the legislation too.  The problem is not a lack of powers, not in many cases a lack of land, nor is it a lack of money, the problem is parish councillors sitting on their hands and a lack of any organised campaign  to force them to do their duty.

[beanie3]

**sitting proud as punch at my MP**  I may vote for him next time.  ;)

[Digeroo]

Actually our parish council are trying their hardest.  There is no hand sitting on going on at all here on the contrary they have been very proactive.  There is no availability of land. 

I am not sure that landowners want to let their land to councils which is why encouraging them to do it privately is a good idea since they do not loose as much control over their land. 

What we need in a repeal of the Inclosure Acts when the land was taken away in the first place. 

[Nigel B]

That really is a first class response from Richard Bacon and I applaud him.  IMHO he's right about the legislation too.  The problem is not a lack of powers, not in many cases a lack of land, nor is it a lack of money, the problem is parish councillors sitting on their hands and a lack of any organised campaign  to force them to do their duty.

True enough I'd say.
Weird, isn't it....?  We have to obey any number of laws for fear of penalty, but somehow, some local councillors seem to think there is no real obligation to obey a law which applies to them, as our 'elected representatives', specifically!
 ??? How did that happen?

[Unwashed]

I am not sure that landowners want to let their land to councils which is why encouraging them to do it privately is a good idea since they do not loose as much control over their land. 

The 1908 Act gives parish councils (indirectly) the power to compulsorily rent land for allotments so if there's land available there's no excuse not to comply with the statutory duty to provide sufficient allotments.  Digeroo - I can see suitable land within 100 yds of your site.  Has your parish council asked Gloucestershire County Council to aquire land for them with their power under the 1908 Act, and if not why not?  Of course one possible answer is that parish councillors are more concerned with the interests of their land-owning chums than they are the interests of their constituents, but you might have difficulty pinning that on them.

Providing allotments is the only positive duty on parish councils, everything else they do is optional.  What it needs is for someone to take a parish council to the high court for a judicial review of their decision not to do their duty, but that's always a bit of a lottery, it'll cost an arm and a leg up-front for experienced representation, and it'll cost some serious money if you lose.

[saddad]

Wow I am impressed by this response. But it is a pity that he thinks that the existing statutes are sufficient.  They certainly have not produced any allotments around here.  With zero budget and no local landowner willing to let to the parish council that is the end of allotments: the statutary obligations do not change that.

As Unwashed has just said the existing statutes are sufficient... there was no problem creating extra allotments during the World Wars... it's only a lack of will that stops the 1908 Act being effective...  >:(

[Squash64]

I received a reply from my MP Khalid Mahmood (lab) today.

Dear Betty,
Thank you for your recent e-mail regarding the allotments and more specifically the allocation of more land for the use as allotments.  I will look into the EDM that you have noted and look into whether or not I can support it.

I do agree that more land should be made available for allotments.  Allotments perform a good social function within communities and offer people the opportunity and the local opportunities they provide.  It is also nice for people to enjoy outside space and cultivate where they may not otherwise have the chance.  Whilst on the subject it is unfortunate to note that the council has just raised allotment fees from twenty-eight pounds a year to seventy-five pounds a year, and I hope this will not discourage their use.

It is always nice to hear from concerned constituents like you who are passionate about issues that concern them.  As always please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if you require any further help or have any other concerns. 
Many thanks,
Yours sincerely,
Khalid Mahmood MP.