Page 61 - ALG Issue 2 2017

Wales
Devolved Management
Welcome to our new members...
Llanfabon Allotments Tredomen Allotments 3 individual members
Peter Ryan, the Allotment Mentor for
Wales, has gardened on a devolved site in Swansea for 40 years. Several years ago his site decided to approach their local council, and agreed between the management committee and the council to go ahead and take over the day-to-day running. Peter is pleased to report that the site has really bene ted for the following reasons.
The committee was elected by the members and they have listened to other members’ views and concerns and, when possible, acted upon them. The gardeners have really bonded together and everyone gets along with one another. Peter feels that the self-management option has bene ted the site and helped its future security.
Devolved management sounds interesting but also a little frightening. So, what is it and how can the Society help sites considering this step? Councils all across the country are facing tough times in terms of keeping services running. The dedicated Allotment Of cer’s role is increasingly being tagged onto staff who are expected to look after the running of allotment sites along with many other duties. Handing over the day-to-day running of an allotment site
to a management committee made up of members from an allotment site is seen by many councils as a way to save money and
preserve the allotment offer in the Borough.
If your site is still being run by the council or private landowner and it is felt that things aren’t really running well, why not approach the council of ce and enquire how they
feel about handing over the day-to-day running of the site to the plot holders? In the meantime, you need to make enquiries with your fellow gardeners to ensure that they would be prepared to take a position on a management committee, have the necessary skills and are willing to contribute to site maintenance tasks etc. Once the council or landowner has con rmed that they are happy to hand over the running (which will now be devolved management) to the members, then there is some ground work to be done.
It is important that all members on your
site are noti ed of the intention to take on the management of the site. Any concerns should be addressed and most authorities will insist on a vote with a large majority in favour. It will take several meetings between the allotment authority and the site committee to come to an agreement regarding handing over the responsibility for site management to the association committee.
There are certain areas that will still be controlled by the landowner. It’s the day- to-day running that I feel most of us are
comfortable in taking control over. This is usually collecting rent, paying the landowner, plot inspections, sending letters when
plot holders fall behind and plots become uncultivated, managing a waiting list, meeting new prospective plot holders and showing them the plot.
Once your management committee has been democratically voted in, it is good practice to have regular meetings. From my experience when meeting various societies, there can sometimes be a breakdown between committee members and plot holders. To overcome this I suggest that minutes of committee meetings are always available, either online or emailed out.
Well this sounds like a lot of work, I hear you say, but there are really good bene ts.
Many sites complain about the lack of interest from landowners in their allotments for various reasons, from vacant and uncultivated plots, to requests not being answered. If that is the case, with help and advice from the National Allotment Society via your regional rep or regional mentor, it’s worth looking into opportunities of devolved management.
Peter Ryan
Allotment Mentor for Wales
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