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Allotments rent rise 2012

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I have just received my allotment bill for 2012 and am horrified at the increase - it's double last years'. :(

Is there an action group fighting the rent rise?

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i knew it was going up but yes mine has doubled too, didn't realise it would be so much,

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there was, salgf were trying but didnt have the support to make much of a difference. Even National society seemed pretty apathetic to the issue.

We all know SCC have been trying to get allotment sites to go self/part managed for years and this is just the latest strategy.

I have given up my allotment, as has my partner so this doesnt really affect me now, good luck trying to get anywhere though.

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I agree the increase is quite a lot, however, putting it in context helped me. Even at £100 a year this is less than £10/month. As an example I pay, and i'm sure many others pay more, £35/month on a mobile phone bill. I am going to cancel this and can easily take this money to pay for my allotment and have change.

 

Many people pay much more than this for cigs, booze etc etc. And there will still be discounts for anyone on benefits I believe.

 

For the enjoyment and satisfation I get out of this pastime then the increase is small beans, and I would much rather pay this than the land sold off and built on, which i'm sure the council would love to do given the chance !

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Thanks for your support, general head.

 

At one time fairly recently I was on the exec committee for salgf and tried to get the support to fight this, unfortunately this was not forthcoming, even though I know that most allotment societies are affiliated with National, and by extension affiliated with salgf. I apologise if my comment sounds apathetic in itself, but I did try for you. The societies and Fed in itself didnt want to listen, which led to not one, but three abstentions from voting on this matter in AAG meetings. I voted against on all occasions that I was present for, I was the ONLY one to do so because of a lack of support. Now that I have stepped down it seems that the scc and those that have taken over from me have allowed this to continue and progress. My only advice is to be better involved next time a decision such as this is brought to the discussion table.

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i knew it was going up but yes mine has doubled too, didn't realise it would be so much,

 

Strange that. The council's main justification for the increase is that they consulted widely on the proposed increase, and found that people prefer the increase to a reduction in service.

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Is there an action group fighting the rent rise?

 

There have been a couple of court cases elsewhere where allotment rent increases have been ruled illegal (see http://plotlines.co.uk/2012/02/sheffield-allotment-rent-increases-illegal/ for a summary). The key issue has been whether the increases are greater than those for other leisure services, and so discriminatory. In Sheffield, that is the case.

 

The council has indicated that they don't think that the other rulings apply to them because of various special circumstances:

 

- One of these is the overall budget position (even though that seems to be an argument for increasing charges across the board, rather than for discriminating against allotment holders).

- Another is a series of consultation events that they held, in which about half of the attendees said that if they were forced to choose between rent increases and service reductions then they would accept rent increases up to half the level of those now implemented by the council.

- A third is that spending on allotments has increased in recent years, as the council has sought to expand the service by opening up new sites. It seems that they expect current tenants to pay not just for their own plots, but also for new plots for others.

 

The last I heard on this is that the SALGA (the Sheffield Association) are seeking legal advice from the NSALG (the National Society they're affiliated with) before deciding whether to take the council to court. Any individual could do so though. Apparently it only cost the man who took Eastleigh Borough Council to court £50.

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we put a thread on here a while ago when it was first proposed - it's been muted for some time now (at least a year or so).

 

The allotment fed intervened and the rise for the year 2010/2011 (I think it was) was agreed to, but the allotment advisory manged to ensure that the council had to agree to hold a consultation for the other rises, which took place last year.

 

I believe plot holders were informed via mail - I certainly got a letter, but I know of people who got several letters for the same plot and others who got no letters at all. I think there were at least 10 sessions across the city (not exactly sure) which were reasonably well attended. The council also sent out questionnaires.

 

The general feeling in the consultation that I went to was allotment holders should pay more for allotments - however, I must stress that the majority of the people I was sat with were all people who only paid half rents (retired / low income etc). I was pretty much a lone voice saying that as a full payment tenant I expected additional services for a doubling in rent.

 

Akrasia is right, there have been some successful challenges - not sure who will be leading the charge for Sheffield tho - maybe the allotment fed ? I can send you the new chairman's email if you are interested in going to the next meeting.

 

I think in honesty you are a bit late to try and stop anything now - so far as I know the rises have been agreed to 2016 (steadily rising)

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What annoys me the most is the charge for water, as the nearest tap to my plot is well over 100m. away and I collect all my water from the shed and greenhouse gutters. I haven't used the tap once anyway since our summers aren't exactly as dry as dust. I take all my own drinking water from home. They should allow an opt out for water. Being charged for a service that I don't use is really annoying.

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What annoys me the most is the charge for water, as the nearest tap to my plot is well over 100m. away and I collect all my water from the shed and greenhouse gutters. I haven't used the tap once anyway since our summers aren't exactly as dry as dust. I take all my own drinking water from home. They should allow an opt out for water. Being charged for a service that I don't use is really annoying.

 

I agree - I have enough water butts to water my plot and would prefer to opt out too.

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And to rub salt into the wound, the council has decided that even though the water charges already cover the cost of the water provision, they're going to increase them by 50% so that they can start making a profit from providing water.

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