Page 40 - ALG Issue 1 2016 No social share

General
Cultivation Standards across the UK
An Englishman’s home may be his castle but I suspect many new plot holders are shocked to realise that an Englishman’s plot may not be his or hers to do entirely as they please. The demand for growing space means that allotment authorities now need to ensure that allotment land
is used ef ciently and for the correct purpose. Prospective plot holders have even been known to keep their eye on their coveted site and complain about non-cultivated plots to their long-suffering allotment of cer.
Long gone are the
days when plot holders
could lay their plots to
grass, install a bench
and sit and enjoy the
view, although some
allotment authorities’
rules and regulations
acknowledge that the
plots are also leisure
gardens and allow small items of children’s play equipment. Impending plot inspections on my direct let site cause a urry of
activity and much discussion about what is reasonable; a recent posting on Facebook gave a tongue in cheek account of plying the council of cers with homemade rhubarb wine in order to befuddle them enough to overlook several weedy overgrown plots.
For this article we have reviewed a number of Local Authority and Association guidelines and the Society’s Management Board will soon be publishing the NAS Cultivation Standards Policy to add to our portfolio of policies on various issues such as rents and plot sizes.
A comparison of cultivation guidelines from a dozen allotment authorities (councils and associations) revealed many common elements such as:
• Percentage of plot to be under cultivation
(range 60% to 95%)
• Percentage of plot that must be cultivated
in the rst year (range 50% to 75%)
The new NAS Policy on Cultivation Standards will be available on the
Long gone are the days when plot holders could lay their plots to grass, install a bench and sit and enjoy the view
• Percentage given
over to various crop
types (Bristol East
does not insist on
vegetables; produce on plots can be all fruit and owers but St Helens speci es that only 10% can be owers and herbs and another restricts the area given over to fruit to 30% maximum)
• Dwar ng root stock for fruit trees
• Restrictions on perennial crops such as rhubarb, asparagus, soft fruit and
strawberries
• Restrictions or bans on crops such as
bamboo or willow
• Control of weeds both annual and
pernicious
website in February 2016
• Manuring
and retaining soil fertility
• Use of carpets (or not)
• Communal pathways to be
kept mown and clear
Many of these rules are common sense and are there to ensure the plot does not fall into such a state that it is hard to let to subsequent tenants or neighbouring tenants are not plagued by blackberry suckers and owering weed seeds.
Monitoring of plots varies a great deal; some authorities inspect monthly, one council inspected yearly. I believe my council inspects twice a year - at the beginning and end of the growing season. Applying the rules, however, can be a very subjective exercise; allotment holders follow a variety of gardening styles. Many are keen to support wildlife on their plot, which may mean the annual tidy up is postponed from autumn to spring and the plot may not then meet the expectations of those who like to see a clean and orderly plot.
The Society is keen to see rules applied fairly and inspections carried out in a way that does not detract from the plot holder’s enjoyment of having their plot. If, for any reason, you can’t get to your plot for a signi cant length of time due to illness or other temporary commitments, the best policy is to let your allotment of cer or committee know so that they can take
that into account when carrying out their inspection schedule.
The NAS Policy on Cultivation Standards will be available on the website in February 2016.
40