Topic: COUNCIL ALLOTMENT RENT RISES

[philistine]

Sheffield city council are increasing allotment rents by 60% this April, this is on top of the 100% increases already incurred last year. This is attempt to make the allotment service completely self financing. They will include giving a lesser service IE no hedge cutting and not actively seeking to evict non active tennants. What happening around the country / and what if any can we do about it ?

[Kea]

Our association argued against outrageous increases on our site and won I'll try and find the link I believe our secretary at the time linked onto a4a.

[daveylamp993]

Philistine are your site members of the allotment and gardens council uk,if not you should be,they are superb at dealing with councils over massive rent increases,they are much better than n.s.a.l.g who normally just fob you off,we had a massive increase proposed by the council a few years ago,n.s.a.l.g said there was nothing they could do,we contacted the allotmotmentsandgardenscounciluk.org.uk they were very supportive and helped us to win our case,they have a very good seed scheme and a excellent insurance scheme too,that is featured in the March edition of Grow Your Own magazine, i hasten to add we are no longer members of n.s.a.l.g,i hope this helps.GOOD LUCK

[Unwashed]

Self-manage philistine.

[kt.]

We self manage and are about half price compared to many council run sites in surrounding areas. 

[philistine]

Self management not an option over 80 plots on site and everyone has to agree and collecting rents would be difficult

[BritBrat]

Self management not an option over 80 plots on site and everyone has to agree and collecting rents would be difficult

I think we have more than 80 and are self managed.

Is there a law limiting the self manged numbers?

[ACE]

The good old days of subsidised allotments are over. Every council in the land has orders not to increase its rates on houses so they have to get the money somewhere. But on the bright side your council tax rise is cheaper than it should be. A lot of new councillors being elected this May and the baby kissers will be knocking on your door. A good time to put your point and tell them their vote ain't coming unless they do something about it.

I do think there might be a limit on the rises under some recreational rules which allotments should come under. Self rule is one way to go and you are bound to have a few busy bodies on your site who will take it on. But be aware it could be out of the frying pan into the fire when a little hitler gets on the committee.

[elvis2003]

we are council owned but self manage, we collect rents on one day, all turn up to pay,no problem...its the way to go...start by holding a meeting, form a committee...ask for help here as lots of us will be happy to advise

[sparrow]

We have 110 plots and are self-managed. Getting the rent in doesn't seem to be a problem for our site - if you don't pay, and you don't pay after a couple of reminders you are in default of your agreement and are kicked off. Our rent isn't the lowest, but it's easily not the highest either.

[caroline7758]

Philistine, how much is your rent? I thought Sheffield was supposed to be a gardener-friendly city with lots of green initiatives!

[steve76]

Our council have put up rent this year, only notification we had was when we got our yearly bill..
  They have gone up by £10 so i now pay £40 a year for my full plot, water is included but thats it,,, we do get council leaf mould dropped off but its not that good you have to leave it for another year before use then you have to be carefull of the rubbish in it including glass..

[Digeroo]

I would like to know that the starting rent was please. 

[Unwashed]

Self management not an option over 80 plots on site and everyone has to agree and collecting rents would be difficult

Sheffield City Council, like every other council across the country, is taxing us till our eyes pop, and they just can't squeeze any more out of us, so they have a choice:  cut social services to vulnerable people like the old and disabled, or find other savings.  Hitting the vulnerable is a popular choice because they're a powerless minority and it might even win the controlling party some middle-class votes, but the alternative is to target services like allotments.

Allotment rent revenue in the order of £3-4 per pole generally pays for the running costs such as the water bill and skip hire with a trickle left over to save for capital investment in things like new fencing and toilets, but a typical city council might spend another £250,000 of tax-payers money running its allotment service.  That tax revenue pays for contractors to cut the grass and hedges, it pays for the council officers who collect the rent and administer the tenancies, and it pays for the commercial overheads of employing those council staff such as their office accommodation and management hierarchy.

Self-management describes a spectrum of devolved responsibilities, but at the fully-self-managing end of the spectrum a site committee takes over both the administration and the site maintenance and saves the council the whole cost of the service which the council can then divert to more deserving services.

The site needs to elect a site committee with a treasurer who is responsible for collecting the rents and paying the bills.  Collecting the rents isn't really any great chore because it's the tenant's responsibility to pay you, it's not your responsibility to chase the tenant.  Making yourself available in the site hut for a couple of weekends in the spring for people to come in and pay their rents is generally what happens.

The site also needs to elect a site secretary who administers the lettings and inspections.  This takes up a few hours each week and is a responsible position, but it's also rewarding.

The site also needs a management committee to make strategic decisions, organize working parties and other events, hear complaints, and generally manage the site affairs.  Committees will meet every other month or so and if everyone is pulling in the same direction they're quite social evenings.  Finding committed people to serve on the committee can be difficult, but a lot depends on how the committee is managed and it's important to be open and friendly.

That covers the administration.  Site maintenance is done with working parties, and if they're organized well these are fun and well supported.  Cutting the grass and trimming hedges is no great challenge - it is gardening after all!  Heavier tasks like clearing ditches, mending fences and laying foundations are all possible with enthusiastic and inclusive organization.

So that's it really.  Self-management can be a challenge for really small sites with just a handful of plots because they don't have the strength in depth, but on a site of 100 plots there'll be plenty of people with the time and inclination, though the council might have to invest some time and money in building their capacity.

So self-management is always possible, and if a site is too lazy to self-manage, then I really hope their council ups their rent to cover the full cost of their hobby, because it can't be right to subsidize the allotment movement at the expense of essential services to vulnerable people.

[CDave]

Self management not an option over 80 plots on site and everyone has to agree and collecting rents would be difficult

It works on sites that are a lot bigger than 80 plots. Can be hard work but rewarding. It can also open up a lot of other possibilities too - for example, where I live, self managed sites in general (but not always) have better facilities because they dont rely on the Council to get things done - they innovate and seek out investment and grants that are sometimes available.

How much was your original rent Philistine?

[winecap]

I notice a couple of people have asked what the actual costs are in Sheffield. My plot was £50 last year, will be £100 this year, and £160 next year. They say this is the amount they are spending, and personally I don't see why we should be subsidised, but I have no idea how they can spend that much running an allotment. My site (not where Philistine is) has about 65 plots, potentially netting £10,000 for the council. We get no hedges cut, no grass cutting, no skips. We do have water stand pipes. We do get a bill once a year. My friend in Chesterfield (15 miles away)pays £15 but gets no water. Perhaps they would turn the water off and drop the rent, afterall I didn't need to use it last year.
The council did try and persuade us to self manage a couple of years back, but offered us only a nominal donation to the allotment society and no reduction in rent.

[elvis2003]

Hi winecap, how can 65 plots potentially net ten grand?

[winecap]

160 x 65 = 10400

[winecap]

What actually concerns me about the rent increases is the long term effect on the site. We had a waiting list of 30+ a couple of years ago and our most recent new tenant got offered a choice of 2 plots without waiting. This years rent being £100 pounds has contributed to that, but what will £160 do? People will give up their plots, and I expect vandalism and arson will increase as the site turns into a playground for teenagers. Maybe ultimately the land will be sold for building houses?
I know that £160  is not a huge amount of money, but in an area of social deprivation where a significant proportion of people are living week to week, finding £160 when the bill comes will be impossible. I think our days are numbered.

[Digeroo]

I have not yet worked out how councils work out the amount they say allotments cost them to run.   I am not sure I understand how they are spending the £10k they will be receiving for the site.  Is this covered by freedom of information?

According to their website they have more than 3000 allotments, so total income for next year should be around the half million £ mark.  If I was a sheffield allotmenteer I would be interested in know what they are spending it on.