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London Region Allotment Officers’ Forum
On Wednesday 13 December 2017 officers from the London Boroughs met for their yearly Allotments Forum at Gillespie
Park Ecology Centre, Drayton Park. Jerry Gutwin and Islington Council very kindly provided a venue and Grant Smith, the London Mentor, facilitated the meeting. Jeff Barber spoke about the new London region and the advantages for a local authority to join e.g. Legal advice for renegotiation of leases, template tenancy agreements and policies etc. Regional meetings are a mix of formal business, speakers, workshops, and discussion. They happen in FEB, MAY, AUG, NOV and all member stakeholders working around allotments in London are welcome.
Each officer introduced themselves and suggested topics for discussion later in the day; several officers had sent in the below topics beforehand:
• Colony Enterprise – what are people’s experience in setting it up?
• Dispute resolution
• Devolved management - experiences
in different local authorities
• Post devolved management issues
• Taking online payments – do any
local authorities do this and how
does it work?
• Trees
It was acknowledged that “A lot to lose: London’s disappearing allotments (2006)” is still the most comprehensive list of plots in the capital. Delegates were informed about the opportunity to join a networking group for ongoing support, the London Parks Benchmarking Group.
Devolved management, the implementation of and issues that
need ongoing support post devolved management, was discussed at length.
But does the local authority still have the capacity to do this? There was concern about what capacity local authorities
would have once the allotment portfolio was handed over to an allotment group, although the local authority would still have a legal obligation to ensure the sites were managed in accord with legislation. There
is a difference between a lease for the land and a contract about management. In
one borough, associations have to submit accounts, minutes etc and there exists
the possibility to take sites back into direct management. Some authorities still manage pro-actively and are keen to carry on doing so but would need to raise revenue from rents to pay for staffing.
Non-cultivation is a perennial subject for discussion and this forum was no exception. The use of probation periods and charging
a deposit was discussed in this context, and whether you can charge enough to cover the actual cost of bringing the plot back to a usable state. Both these tactics need to be explained clearly to tenants. What defined non-cultivation? There can be many different styles of gardening. ‘Eccentric’ gardening can be something positive. Cultivation isn’t
After lunch the group of officers visited Quill Street, the “large” Islington site (19 plots), and asked us to judge standards of cultivation on the site – hence the white pieces of paper.
to do with tidiness or competence; it’s to do with going there and cultivating it. It was felt that nuisance to others is the key criterion when applied to weeds. Outdated legislation and wording was seen as an issue e.g. it refers to ‘his’ plot.
Dispute resolution and mediation-what
is the allotment officer’s role? Usually, this
is to confirm that due process is being followed. In a situation that has become difficult, there may be a need to visit and actually mediate directly. One example given was where a committee has not followed procedure, even though the plotholder is a problem. Now the committee is being more careful about procedure. Is there a limit to how many times a tenant can appeal? This can potentially involve going to higher and higher authorities. Direct let sites are linked to the council’s appeals process. On a self- managed site, they may be brought into the same appeals system.
The potential problems caused by trees were discussed. It was felt that this should be addressed via the tenancy agreement and rules. On plots there are height restrictions to about 6’ or 12’ or whatever the tenancy agreement says, which may
also specify distance from paths and overshadowing. In some cases fruit trees are banned to avoid compensation disputes when people are evicted or they move on. In practice, fruit trees are common. Fast growing trees can be a problem e.g. fig trees, walnut trees, ‘Christmas trees’. Trees elsewhere on sites should be managed through a tree inspection programme. Devolved management agreement can restrict LA’s responsibility to Health and Safety. If sites want additional tree work done, they can be put in touch with an approved tree surgeon. The site pays for the work.
Grant Smith, London Mentor
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