Agenda item

 Agreed

that:-

(1)        all new tenancies be restricted to those living within the city and for as long as they continue to do so;

(2)        all new tenancies be restricted in size to a maximum of ten rods (approx 250 m²) per household;

(3)        payment arrangements for allotment rents are brought into line with the range of payment options available for other council services, subject to such arrangements complying with the statutory provisions relating to allotments;

(4)        discounts applied to current tenancies remain for the duration of the individual tenancy and are not transferrable, and that no discounts are applied to new tenancies;

(5)        changes are made to the service to reduce maintenance costs and bring the service into line with the projected budget for 2015/16 as set out in Section 9 of the circulated report;

(6)        a rent free period of up to a year may be authorised by the Service Manager where a new tenant is willing to accept an untidy plot or where a tenant is prepared to be the single representative overseeing the allotment site on behalf of the council; and

(7)        an Allotment Users’ Forum be established in liaison with the Allotment Bodies;

That it is recommended to Council to approve that:-

(8)        greater service user participation is encouraged and that the authority to enter into management agreements with duly elected Allotment Associations as laid out in Appendix B be delegated to the Assistant Director Public Realm in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Health and Wellbeing;

(9)        changes in the Allotment Gardens Rules and Conditions set out in Appendix C are approved and that the Service Manager with overall responsibility for Allotments be delegated responsibility to interpret the Rules in the case of a dispute; and

(10)      allotment Gardens Rules and Conditions are issued from 1 October 2014 and thereafter reviewed annually and that authority to approve or amend the Rules is delegated to the Assistant Director Public Realm in consultation with the Council’s Monitoring Officer and the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Health and Wellbeing.

Reason for Decision:

To provide a platform upon which to build the sustainable, affordable, long term future of the allotments and to enable the greater active participation of service users groups in the direct management of their sites.

The report of the Assistant Director Public Realm was submitted, setting out the current position with regard to the Council’s provision of allotments and, in the light of consultation with service users, proposed a number of changes to the operation of the service and the rules governing lettings.

The Portfolio Holder for Environment, Health and Wellbeing thanked the allotment holders for participating in the consultation process and the officers for the report. He reported that Scrutiny Committee – Community had supported the way forward and had also agreed an additional recommendation for the formation of an Allotment Users’ Forum. He welcomed comments with regards to the empty plots and the waiting list and anticipated that this was one of the issues that the Forum could help to address.

A Member stated that he did not support a cut in the allotments budget. He had concerns regarding how the Users’ Forum would operate and the need for transparency. 

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Customer Access stated that local management would help with the knowledge of unused plots these can then be re-let to new users, reducing the waiting list. The Council had proposals for new allotments on council owned build sites and through the use of Section 106 monies on new, larger development.