Council vers chickens on allotments

[jimbob]

Has any one won the case to have chickens on council allotments.

I have been stopped but cannot get the council to change there mind even thought Leicester is supposed to be a green city.

they say they have a bye law and have change our lease but they will not give me a copy of the bye law

the only part of the lease that was changed was around keeping live stock, i am also a bee keeper and they will not let me have a hive which would benefit all the allotments

help needed or ideas to get this over turned

[jimbob]

[kt.]

Not all sites allow livestock.  I believe government policy is that councils have to provide allotments for cultivation.  This does not necessarily mean they have to permit livestock.  Different councils and sites have different rules depending upon locations and ownership.  Our site permits a maximum of 20% plots to have livestock and these are numbered plots,  predesignated.  Also,  as we sign  contracts that are only for a year at a time, in theory they could alter this ruling when it comes to resigning. 

This topic was raised last month. 
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,44931.0.html

[jimbob]

Thanks for the link, i have justed checked it and it was usefull.

one of my problems is the politics in some of the older established members of our group, their stuck in their ways and seem to adhere to the council rule and will not protect there own rights, some probably signed the last deed to abolish the live stock clause.

I am still determined to have my rights upheld and we are looking to write to the legal department for the council to confirm if they have a by law saying we cannot have them.

The bees i am looking to use the german method by having them in the shed for the moment, see how that goes down.

Ta 4 now

[Old bird]

Hi Jimbob

Why don't you get some support from the press and the Jamie Oliver Hugh Fernley Whittingstall camp?  I am not sure how you would go about it but I am sure that someone in the organic/green type of movement round you may be able to provide pressure.

Whilst I am an advocate re bees - I can see them refusing them as there is a potential damages claim for them if someone gets too close to your bees and upsets them or whatever.  If they got hurt, they may have a damages claim.

i would love bees myself, but currently haven't anywhere for them and am now a bit old to start a new hobby although I am looking for a bee keeper who wants to plant a hive on my property at home, but they will have to do all the work - and I would hope to get some free honey!

Good luck anyway - if you want any help - I can write emails/letters!

Old Bird

;D

[jimbob]

You are never to old to do bees, as they are not labour intensive id you have one hive and its at home.  I had two hives in my small garden and used to just sit to one side of them watching them go in and out, very peace full and therapeutic.

The work load comes when you need to harvest the honey and if you take the frames out as you need them, it could be once every week. it is not as bad as people think.  as to the danger we ha a swarm from one of our garden hives on our daughters wedding day in the morning, i nuked it where it had landed by the apple tree and left it there for two days while all our guest were running about in the garden, my good ladies cousin where drinking vodka sat by the nuk and using it as a table not knowing it had bees in.

Until i told them the next day that is

bees are good provided you do not play with horses and have lemon drops for perfume or sweets as the smell of lemondrops is their signal for attack and they cannot stand the smell of horses.

we have considered getting the local papers involved and we are planning that stage now

nice speaking to you

[Robert_Brenchley]

Most beekeepers are a bit long in the tooth, we're not getting the young folks into it for some reason. So don't be inhibited. There needn't be any danger to anyone as long as you're careful to keep good-tempered bees. If you have the hive facing into a six-foot fence, or even a shed, that forces the bees up above head height and nobody will even notice them. Swarms can look intimidating, but as long as they're not starving, they won't sting anyone. There's no nest to be defended.

[vespaman]

my friend on same allotment site keeps racing doos.

but his lease says he's not allowed to keep birds.

but the plot is allocated for pigeons only.

[kt.]

the plot is allocated for pigeons only.

Our plots which are allocated to have livestock must also be 70-75% cultivated which is its main purpose.  I personally disagree the use of allotments for 'full' livestock use.

[VegieBird]

Reply to Robert_Brenchley:

Hi

I was contemplating keeping bees on my allotment and was wondering what I would need to get set up.

Once armed with that info, I was going to double check with the allotment, as I am pretty sure we are still allowed livestock on the site.

I am sited right in the corner so I would be quite a distance away from most plot holders and I thought keeping bees would be a great idea considering all the problems the poor little fellows have had recently.

Any tips to get started?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Sorry about the delay responding, I've only just seen this. You need to keep good-tempered bees which won't swarm too much (they vary a lot of both counts), and if you can face them into something, even a shed, which will push them up above head height, that helps. You need a hive, bees, and a few basic bits and pieces. Two hives are a lot better, so if anything goes wrong with one, you can get bees, raise a queen, or whatever, from the other. Hives are expensive, but if you use Thorne's winter sale in the New Year, you can get one half price.

Bees are expensive if your buying a nucleus - that's a half-size colony. A full colony in a hive is cheaper, but an intimidating start for a beginner. Swarms usually come free, but you don't know what you're getting. I've had two this year, one passed on by another beekeeper, the other turned up hanging off the side of an empty hive. They're both nice-tempered bees; they're almost always healthy as a sick colony won't build up enough to swarm. One is thriving, the other had a dud queen. I'm currently looking at the weather wondering whether it's going to be warm enough for the new one to mate!

If you join your local Beekeepers' Association - let me know where you're from and I can get a contact number - they should have a winter programme of meetings, and they may have some second hand gear if you're lucky. They'll certainly know about swarms.