News / allotments
Alarm as allotment costs could more than double
Costs for keeping an allotment in Bristol could more than double under new proposals.
New allotment rents could see a plot up to 74sq m rise from £30 to £64 and a plot between 150sq m and 224sq m rise from £70 to £141.
New additional fees could include a charge of £15 for installing a shed or a pond, and £25 for keeping chickens or bees.
The proposed allotment rent fees and charges are part of a consultation which forms part of Bristol City Council’s new Parks and Green Spaces Strategy.
The local authority’s new Food Growing and Allotments Strategy “outlines our intent to provide more accessible and sustainable food growing spaces for communities, helping to tackle food inequality while also supporting community cohesion and wellbeing”.
“The Food Growing and Allotment Strategy has been embedded in the Parks and Green Spaces Strategy to highlight the close link between our green spaces and delivering food equality and sustainability for Bristol.
“The need for more space to grow food is high and having this aligned within the same document will make sure demands on our green spaces are balanced with more food growing opportunities.”
Lynmouth Road Allotments just off Mina Road in St Werburgh’s has only 15 plots – photo: Martin Booth
The city council manages more than 4,000 allotment plots across Bristol, with an additional 1,500 plots managed by five allotment associations on behalf of the council, with 8,000 people currently on waiting lists for an allotment.
The council say that a shift is needed “from predominantly focussing on the improvement of allotments sites, to considering how we can increase access to food growing opportunities”.
The increased rent proposal “go further than just maintaining the current service, as we want to improve the offer to our tenants and work towards increasing the number of plots available to those on the waiting list”, with plans including to employ an additional allotment officer, improve maintenance and repairs, and restore overgrown abandoned plots.
The rent increases are due to “align with other similar sized local authorities”, with the curent 50 per cent rent discount for tenants in receipt of council tax reduction or housing benefit due to include everyone in receipt of all universal credit or pensions credit benefits.
Redland Green Allotments has more than 100 plots – photo: Martin Booth
A petition has already been started to object to the council’s proposals.
Petition founder Holly Wyatt said: “These changes would see enormous rent increases for plot-holders, with rents more than doubling for many plots on sites with water access.
“In attempts to show that they are not just doing this for profit, they are proposing to increase availability to discounts for tenants on Universal Credit and other benefits – negating to mention that even with these discounts plot prices for eligible tenants will still be higher than they are currently and therefore will not be any more accessible than they are right now.
“There are also proposed additional fees that cover everything from setting up a new tenancy to applying for permission to keeps hens and bees, or to erect a greenhouse or shed.
“There’s even a proposed additional charge for requesting permission to install a pond – despite the huge positive benefits these have for wildlife and nature across our allotment sites.
“Currently none of these items are charged as additions, and there is no possible justification for adding charges onto items that the Council should already be handling as part of their management responsibility and are already paid for.
“There is also the proposal to charge sites for holding events, which would have a hugely detrimental impact on the community and deter sites from doing this.
“Our site, for example, holds an annual bat walk – this is a free event which we all look forward to and brings the allotment site together, but would be unlikely to go ahead if we were expected to find funds to pay the Council for an event we organise and that they have no involvement with.
“There is absolutely no cost to the Council in us holding such events, and therefore no justification in charging sites other than purely for greed.”
To take part in the consultation, visit www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/BristolPGSS
Ashley Vale Allotments are managed by the Ashley Vale Allotments Association – photo: Martin Booth
Main photo: Martin Booth
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