Allotments questions - is this normal?

[Smileyk]

Our allotments are pretty open (no fencing around it at all!) and each plot is separated by 2 foot of grass which one of the old boys mows.  We actually hoped to get an allotment at the edge of the next village as they are more protected and defined but they also have a waiting list - and NINE empty plots that are overgrown and unused - three of which belong to the same person!  :o

Anyway there are NO sheds, greenhouses or anything on any of the plots.  We're still waiting for the rules and official docs to sign (in the post apparently) but someone on another allotment said no buildings were allowed at all.  Is this normal?  We were hoping to put a bench there but it seems that this may not be allowed either.  I thought sheds and things were all part of an allotment and was really surprised by this - hence me wondering if it's normal.

We live 5 mins from the allotment so it's not a major hassle to carry a spade there or drive down with stuff in the car but it's not ideal either.

So now I'm wondering if I should put my name on the waiting list for the other allotments and push for them to sort out the empty plots.  Or do we just make the best of what we have got and hope that they finally get round to fencing it off and making it secure?  I have a few ideas (communal shed would be good if we aren't allowed our own) but I don't want to rock the boat when we're new to the allotments and some of them have been there for years.

Help?  Do I just shut up and get on with it or what?

BTW dh started digging over the weekend and it was hard work - though easier after all the rain on Sat and Sun morning!  We also got some half price veggie plants from the garden centre so we have something in there now.  Got some lettuce, sweetcorn, spinach and something else which I can't remember  ::)

[Smileyk]

[Oldmanofthewoods]

Council allotments?

If they are the council are obliged to supply allotments that are "fit for purpose" and "fit for use".  This means that you should have somewhere to store tools although usually without any permenant/semi-permenant base (i.e. no concrete or hard-standing).

Additionally, the council are responsible for making the allotments reasonably secure.

Councils now, aware that the land that they hold is worth a huge amount of money,  are not always so keen on making the allotments viable, nor ensuring that they are kept up.

Go see the council and demand that they perform the services that they are oblidged to and that you are paying them for.

They will push us around if they can.

Jack

[Smileyk]

Thanks Jack.

They are council allotments so once I have the rules and regulations then I will have a word.  It took two weeks for the lady in charge to go down and see if there were any allotments available - you'd think she'd know without having to go and look!  ::)

She did mutter something about waiting for funding for a fence but I'd like something more than that - particularly as it's right next to the play park and the track that the kids have built for their bikes!  The kids play in the allotments too which I'm not particularly happy about.

[Fork]

Children playing in the allotments?

Do you realise that if anyone,never mind a child gets injured in any way shape or form on those allotments you are liable?

Soon as you get some fencing up etc and some liability insurance you will be much better off.

We have tresspassers will be prosecuted signs on our allotment gate but if they do tresspass and get injured we are still liable.

[asbean]

Hi Smiley, welcome to the A4A.

Our allotment is on a council owned site, we are not allowed any structures at all (although one old boy has a shed tucked away in a corner).  This may be because the site backs onto the back of the prison, and is surrounded by houses, and although they ALL have sheds etc in their back gardens, which we overlook, maybe the logic is that they would object to us having sheds, greenhouses etc.

Our council has been very good about maintenance, we have have a security fence (4 ft high, so easily climbable) and locked gates.  The fence is falling down at the moment, and they have been very good about the replacement fence, consulting us, and giving us exactly what we want in the way of a replacement.

We are No 2 on the waiting list for another plot on a site which is completely open (adjoining fields and the railway line) because we want a polytunnel, which we can't have here.  I know people walk through the allotments, but it is discouraged, and I don't think vandalism is too much of a problem. It's 5 mins by car (as opposed to 5 mins on foot) so I'll have to get my bike back on the road!

[SueSteve]

Welcome to the A4A!
We are not allowed any sheds on our allotment, which is owned by the Parish Council.
We keep most of our tools in an empty compost bin!
I am told that on some other allotments closeby that are owned by the council, it is a problem with kids setting fire to them, so that is why we are shedless. Also they are quiet small plots, only 3/4m wide by 15/16m long.

[silly billy]

My advice would be to take the plot you have already got and use it for now but keep pushing for a plot on the other site.The one you currently have doesn't sound ideal as it is so open and some kids have a habit of ruining anything you grow which is heartbreaking.You may end up having your plot for decades so its best to get one that meets your needs.
We are allowed buildings and having your own shed makes such a difference.

[Smileyk]

Children playing in the allotments?

Do you realise that if anyone,never mind a child gets injured in any way shape or form on those allotments you are liable?

Soon as you get some fencing up etc and some liability insurance you will be much better off.

We have tresspassers will be prosecuted signs on our allotment gate but if they do tresspass and get injured we are still liable.

Oh my goodness - really!? I will definately have to have words with the council lady then!  Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks to everyone else for comments and advice too :D

[gruesome]

My plot is run by a Trust in the village, the land left to the people of the village(so heres hoping it stays an allotment). We have hedges all around the field but no mains water. Any water needed has either to be caught by run-off from shed/greenhouse roofs or brought in containers to the plot. In the days when you could trust people (my grandads days) he used to leave all his tools under a sheet of galvanise against a hedge, nothing ever went missing. I personally have 3 sheds and 2 greenhouses on my plot and needless to say with all this rain have plenty of water, 3 old baths and a 50 gallon drum filled to overflowing.I can never ever remember any vandalism on the gardens (maybe a little produce lifting). But now my plot is surrounded by a wooden pallet windbreak so the old guys who used to help themselves now cant thingy a leg over it, ;D

[Fork]

Oh my goodness - really!? I will definately have to have words with the council lady then!  Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks to everyone else for comments and advice too :D


[/quote)

if you have an allotment commitee they should look into it

[southernsteve]

Children playing in the allotments?

Do you realise that if anyone,never mind a child gets injured in any way shape or form on those allotments you are liable?

Soon as you get some fencing up etc and some liability insurance you will be much better off.

We have tresspassers will be prosecuted signs on our allotment gate but if they do tresspass and get injured we are still liable.

Just shows what an ass the law is. If someone is tresspassing and then injure themselves they should be liable, for the simple reason they shouldn't be there in the first place. Had a recent case on the railway where two drunks were killed by a train. Their families tried to get the driver prosecuted for man slaughter because he hadn't sounded his horn. They had got off another train, which was blocking a crossing. Instead of waiting for this train to move off, they decided to walk down the track and cross behind it. BANG! Fortunately common sense ruled the day and the charges were dropped. I just think its about time people were made to take the consequences of their own actions, and not to be able to blame someone else all the time.

[Oldmanofthewoods]

Re:  Funding for the fence.  If they plant a hedge the EU will give them £2.5/yard.  Naff all if the silly buggers build a fence.  The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers might be able to help you with negotiatioons while the Council are doing nothing.

You are not liable for anyone injuring themselves on your allotment as long as you have taken due care to avoid leaving dangerous items/situations.  The council is liable and they know it - get them to make it secure - use the Citizens Advice Bureau as a hammer to get them to act.  I tend to leave my shed open and the kids use it when it rains I leave them a note not to damage anything and that usually works. They even tidied up once!

Allotment insurance is £10 per £100 with £100 excess.  Best get together with the allotment mafia to discuss it. Greenhouses/Poly T's are never covered.

Get Levelling!

Jack

[Barnowl]

Allotment insurance is £10 per £100 with £100 excess.  Best get together with the allotment mafia to discuss it. Greenhouses/Poly T's are never covered.

Jack

I think the decimal points might be in the wrong place?

[Oldmanofthewoods]

No.  It costs £10 per annum for every £100 of allotment cover you want.  When you make a claim the first £100 of the claim is not given back to you by the insurer.
However, you may know another insurer who does a better deal.  If so, please tell me.
Jack

[Barnowl]

It seems steep for property insurance but I suppose allotments are often very vulnerable. One problem is that processing each bit of paperwork costs so much that small premiums aren't very worthwhile for insurers. If you have household insurance you may be able to get an extension on that, at any rate to cover tools in a locked shed.

These brokers offer a policy for Associations - may offer individual policies.

http://www.rsib.co.uk/The-Allotments-Insurance-Scheme_3_0_15_23_info.html

[Oldmanofthewoods]

Thanks Wise One (had any squirrels tails today?)

I have given the contact a call and should here from her later.  I will inform the site if I can get cheaper insurance than through NALG.

Jack

[Cuke]

Since I'm on the waiting list for the same allotment site as SueSteve I guess I now have an answer as to why there don't seem to be any sheds on them...

It's a shame, I liked the idea of having a shed or greenhouse, or at least a comunal building of some kind. Help give a sense of community to things and all that... Seems a bit of a weak excuse about kids burning them down... I mean it's hardly inner city round there after all...  grumble grumble... ;)

[manicscousers]

if the kids burn them down, why not the metal ones you can buy now ?  ;D

[Cuke]

lol exactly...

At the end of the day I'd happily put one up and if it got burnt down then its my choice to get another one or not, but being told I can't on the off chance something happens to it seem a little unfair....

I guess the view is that they tempt vandels onto the site and other plot holders would suffer as a result.... Still seems unfair though....

[Oldmanofthewoods]

Hello Barn Owl

I just contacted those good peeps in Nottinghamshire (I have laid three hedges there!) about allotment insurance and, at first pass, it seems that they are quite reasonable with the insurance premiums.  they are sending through a form and I will tell the forum how much the insurance is.

Thanks again, I owe you.

Jack