Topic: Any Advice would help ..

[maddyker]

Hello

Firstly thank you for taking a moment to read this. I have set this account up for my 62 year uncle (after much nagging from him ) however I think I may be to late now.

I wonder if any of you can help me. My Uncle began going to allotment as it  was a old family friends who loved sitting there and the social side but could no longer do the work. He recently lost his fight and his wife ended the agreement on the allotment and assumed that my uncle could continue to stay there. But turns out the council say only John's name ( man who recently passed away) on lease.

I am 99% sure that my Uncle has no hope of keeping it but thought it wouldn't hurt to ask. Without going into his life to much my Uncle suffered from really bad depression often leading to him having dark thoughts. But the 7 years he has been attending to the garden as they call it, His life has been totally different... It has helped him in no ends of different ways. Is there any advice .


Thank you for your time .

[daveylamp993]

Firstly I would contact the secretary of the site if they have one,if not contact the allotment owner IE local council,or whoever,explain that your uncle has been doing most of the work over the last few years and has benefitted personally from it and for health reasons would like to take over the plot,they might well say that he cant have the plot he has been doing,but if there is no waiting list possibly offer him one of his own,i hope this helps,good luck,let us know how you get on.I'm sure the plotholders on site will give you the advice that you need so talk to them too,to see if there is a procedure that you need to follow,most plot holders are very helpful.

[pumkinlover]

He has no "rights" as I understand it unless the friend left it him in his will.
However if there is a long standing relationship such as 7 years and the garden is well cared for, the secretary or council may choose to use their discretion.
As the waiting list is unlikely to be more than 7 years you could suggest that he has been on the garden for longer than other people on the waiting list and they may choose to make him the tenant. However that would be setting a precedent so depending on the management structure they could decide to stick to the rules.
If he has kept the garden in good condition and been involved with allotment life this could work in his favour.
Good luck

[kt.]

Our rules are very clear - plots only go to immediate next of kin, brother sister, son daughter etc.  No cousins uncles or other.  If a plotholder has had somebody sharing with them and give up the plot,  irrespective of length of time they have helped - the other party has no right to say and the plot is allocated to next on the waiting list.  We have not allowed joint tenancies for several years now as the first rule is suffice. 

[gwynnethmary]

But this effectively just means keeping a piece of land in the family irrespective of what the relative has done to warrant having the right to take over.  On the other hand, a friend for example, who has helped to work a plot surely ought to take precedence over a relative if he/she has been the person who has done the work?  On our council-run allotments, the tenant can have a registered partner, who would get first refusal if the tenant decided to give up his tenancy.  I think the partnership has to have been active for at least 12 months.  This seems to me to be a much fairer way to do things.

[davyw1]

Our rules are the same as KT,s only one name on the plot and it goes to the direct relative.
The advantages are no one can jump the waiting list by getting their name added.
You can sell whats on your plot but not the land so if you have greenhouses etc you can put a price on what you want for your allotment this will then go to the family.
Registered co workers have no rights unless their name is on the allotment agreement so if the mamed tenent leaves then the co worker must leave also.

[artichoke]

Has the old family friend (previous owner of the plot) got a direct relation who could nominally inherit the plot and take an interest in it, but your uncle could continue to do the work?