Proposed Allotment rent increases 2011

10th February 2011  

KPAA committee members went to a special meeting with the council on Wednesday night. There is some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Greenwich Council have agreed to let self managed sites set their own rent.  Kidbrooke is a self managed site.  So, we got what we wanted.

There will be some changes to the existing agreement that we have with the council, and this will take time to sort out. Once this agreement is finalised, the committee will be in a position to confirm our rent increase, which will be a small increase, nothing like the 200% the council were proposing.

There are only 3 self managed sites in Greenwich; Kidbrooke, Gavestone Lee, and Prior street. All other sites are managed by the council, and the Council are still going ahead with their rent increases, but have agreed to phased them over 4 years. They would not confirm what this years increase will be but councillor Fahy said that it was in the order of 25% this year, another 25% next year and so on over 4 years.  All of the attendees from allotments were unhappy with this.

The BBC ONE show have asked Greenwich Council permission to do a piece on the rent increases. If Greenwich Council give the go ahead they will be doing some filming at Kidbrooke Allotments, date to be confirmed.  

15^th January 2011

 Greenwich Borough Allotment Holders Fighting Council Rent Increases

Anger as proposed rents are forecast to more than double

Allotment holders across the Borough are engaged in a major campaign against Greenwich Council which is proposing a substantial increase in rents. At present allotment holders in the Borough pay £67 per annum for a full plot. Under the new proposals of the Council, the rent will rise from £67 to £200 with some allotment holders facing even steeper rises. In addition further increases are planned for subsequent years.

The allotment holders feel that they are unfairly paying the price for the current squeeze on local authority budgets. Indeed many feel that the Council is seeking to raise funds through indirect taxes such as rises in allotment rents rather than implement cost savings and efficiencies.

There is also anger that such rent increases were proposed without sufficient consultation. However the Council is now aware that the proposed increases will not be quietly accepted! Angry allotment holders are increasingly raising their concerns at Council meetings and the issue is receiving extensive coverage in the national press.

 In addition the legal basis for the increases has been brought into question. The Land Act 1950 states that local authorities have a legal obligation to let land for use as allotments at such rent as a tenant may reasonably be expected to pay. It is likely that this will become the focus of a legal argument and allotment holders may challenge the rises on this basis.

A spokesperson for the allotment holders explained “Councils should be actively widening and encouraging the use of allotments. In an age where people are increasingly concerned about the quality of their diets, obesity and climate change, allotments offer the ability to provide pure and healthy produce. In addition, allotments benefit the members' physical and mental heath and allow children to learn about their food. Allotments foster a sense of community among diverse nationalities and income groups. They should not be priced to appeal only to the rich. They help keep older people healthier and happier - thus probably saving money on the Council's social services budget. I guess that the extra revenue raised by the proposed rent increase would be more than eliminated by the cost of having to provide social care for one extra person. The Council is sending out the wrong message”.

A meeting to discuss the issue took place at Woolwich Town hall on 20^th January at 6.30pm. Representatives from all 18 allotment site in Greenwich were invited to attend. Wally, Evey, Daisy and Chris attended this meeting. About 30 allotment holders from across Greenwich borough attended. Everyone thought that the proposed increase was too high, and that not enough information was given by the council about the meeting.  The point about allotments being therapeutic to the aged was well made. Jon York from Prior street allotments made his point about the possible illegality of the amount of increase and the council stated that they would take legal advice. Other allotment holders spoke out against the rent increases and asked questions. 

The council conceded that another meeting would be necessary and that it would take place during the first week of February. They also agreed to provide the following information to each allotment early in the week of 24th January. 1)Breakdown of proposed charges for 2011/12 and 2012/14  2)The actual budget details for allotment costs to council 2009/10 3)Financial details they used to come up with the proposed increase 4)Details of the price increases and subsidy they are planning for other recreational services and other services. 5) Their notes of the meeting. 

We are still waiting to receive these details from Greenwich council (25th Jan 2011).

A representative from the local newspaper was at the meeting.