Topic: learn something new...

[Si D]

...everyday.

Well there's a thing - never knew that before!  Went to an allotment meeting the other day (might as well sit round and talk about them as can't do any proper work on mine at the mo) and the bloke from the association stated that you needed to have permission by way of getting a license if you wanted to plant fruit trees.  I can see the logic in this - a tree can be a pretty permanent thing compared to most annual veg plants - if you leave the plot, it's going to go on growing.

But then he said that you needed a similar license if you wanted to plant rhubarb or strawberries!  How's that work then?  Never noticed anyone complain about having trouble clearing an allotment 'cos it was over run with strawberries.  Bizarre!

[Squash64]

I heard this at a meeting too and thought it was bizarre! Most new plotholders are only too happy to find strawberries and rhubarb on their plot.

I suppose it's because they are perennial?  But even so, what's the problem?

[Bugloss2009]

that's the same with us, though nobody takes any notice

[chriscross1966]

Check the status of the site vis-a-vis the Allotments and Smallholdings Act. If it is a statutory site under the provisions of the act then the local council can pass all the resolutions, byelaws and rules they want, they're  not allow to remove rights granted in the act. For instance, you can keep chickens and bees, pretty certain you can have perrennial fruit too though  I'd have to checkl.... A lot (most) councils don't realise this, but English law is remarkably fixed, a right given by act of parliament cannot be taken away by anything less.... it's what make our contract law so horrifying for US companies....

chrisc

[Unwashed]

Check the status of the site vis-a-vis the Allotments and Smallholdings Act. If it is a statutory site under the provisions of the act then the local council can pass all the resolutions, byelaws and rules they want, they're  not allow to remove rights granted in the act. For instance, you can keep chickens and bees, pretty certain you can have perrennial fruit too though  I'd have to checkl.... A lot (most) councils don't realise this, but English law is remarkably fixed, a right given by act of parliament cannot be taken away by anything less.... it's what make our contract law so horrifying for US companies....

chrisc

You can keep chickens and rabbits because of S.12 Allotments Act 1950 even if your Tenancy Agreement says you can't, but that's the only livestock you can keep as of right.  Unless it's specifically prohibited by the Tenancy Agreement you can keep anything else you want as long as it is consistent with the general terms of use of the allotment.  If your tenancy agreement says you can't keep any other livestock then you might possibly argue that bees aren't actually livestock, but it's not a very good argument, and more importantly it's not very responsible.

It's not true that a landlord can make whatever rules they want.  Councils can only make rules under the power of S.28 Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 which is pretty much rules that define the conditions under which they are to be cultivated.  That's quite a broad mandate, but it does limit the scope.

More useful is that the fairness of a rule can be challenged under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 on the basis that the landlord has made an unreasonable ancillary obligation or restriction.  Basically the landlord can only protect his legitimate interests.  So a term that requires you to get a license to grow strawberries and rhubarb is unenforceable because neither are a problem when the tenant vacates.  Trees is different because they're troublesome to remove and they can cause shade nuisance, though the latter concern should already be covered by the nuisance term.  There's a good chance then that a no tree clause is unenforceable if it's drafted too generally.

The problem is that councils often believe they can do exactly what they want and convincing them otherwise can be difficult.

[shirlton]

Well Si I reckon everyone on our site should be having a good clear out then don't you. ;D

[betula]

I took my last parish council to task as they stated no chickens,this could only be allowed if a bylaw said that was so.

I got the tenancy agreement changed but look out for that bylaw before if you want to keep chickens or rabbits  :)

[chriscross1966]

You can keep chickens and rabbits because of S.12 Allotments Act 1950

Oops my bad, knew it was chickens and something?.... why would anyone keep rabbits, my old site was plagued with the things......

[lincsyokel2]

You can keep chickens and rabbits because of S.12 Allotments Act 1950

Oops my bad, knew it was chickens and something?.... why would anyone keep rabbits, my old site was plagued with the things......

Cos they are eatable................

[Si D]

Well Si I reckon everyone on our site should be having a good clear out then don't you. ;D

Indeed - I seem to be using strawberries as green manure at the moment!  I was also rather worried about the ban on chicken wire  :(

[Unwashed]

Cos they are eatable................

It's funny how things change.  Keeping chickens is very much the thing to do, but rabbits are completely out of fashion.   Why should that be?

[lincsyokel2]

Cos they are eatable................

It's funny how things change.  Keeping chickens is very much the thing to do, but rabbits are completely out of fashion

Well the interesting thing is that kilo for kilo, rabbit meat is poor nutrition. In fact, rabbits have no beneficial content beyond their protein. So if you eat ONLY rabbits you get no vitamins and eventually die, this was known to happen to trappers and frontiersmen in Canada and the US Wild West in the last two centuries.

'Rabbit starvation', also referred to as protein poisoning or mal de caribou, is a form of acute malnutrition caused by excess consumption of any lean meat (e.g., rabbit) coupled with a lack of other sources of nutrients usually in combination with other stressors, such as severe cold or dry environment. Symptoms include diarrhea, headache, fatigue, low blood pressure and heart rate, and a vague discomfort and hunger that can only be satisfied by consumption of fat or carbohydrates.

The other pitfall in the Northwest Frontier  north was Polar bear liver. This has ten times more Vitamin A than any other mammal liver, and eating a whole liver kills you by means of Vitamin A overdose.

[davyw1]

Cos they are eatable................

It's funny how things change.  Keeping chickens is very much the thing to do, but rabbits are completely out of fashion.   Why should that be?

Cos you don't have to skin an egg

[tonybloke]

Well the interesting thing is that kilo for kilo, rabbit meat is poor nutrition. In fact, rabbits have no beneficial content beyond their protein. So if you eat ONLY rabbits you get no vitamins and eventually die,

'tis why you should eat rabbit stew, with plenty of vegetables!! ;)

[Robert_Brenchley]

Put some fat bacon in with it.

[Si D]

Well the interesting thing is that kilo for kilo, rabbit meat is poor nutrition. In fact, rabbits have no beneficial content beyond their protein. So if you eat ONLY rabbits you get no vitamins and eventually die, this was known to happen to trappers and frontiersmen in Canada and the US Wild West in the last two centuries.

<Alan Davis on QI> What?  If you eat rabbits you die? That can't be right. </Alan Davis on QI>

[Robert_Brenchley]

You won't die. Rabbits contain protein and a little fat (not enough) but not much else. If you eat any pure meat diet you soon get malnutrition. If you eat a proper diet with veg etc. you can eat all the rabbit you like. If you live in an arctic climate you need to add a lot of extra fat as it's an efficient source of energy to keep you warm.

[Plot69]

Cos you don't have to skin an egg

They're a tad too crunchy for me if they're not "skinned"  ::)