Ashford Allotments
  • WELCOME
    • About this website
  • NEWS and What's On
  • SEASONAL STUFF for this part of Kent
  • HOW DO I GET AN ALLOTMENT?
  • YOUR NEW ALLOTMENT
  • TRADING STORE and the bulk buying scheme
  • TOUR OF THE ALLOTMENT SITES
  • ADVICE AND INFORMATION
  • FRUIT & VEG A - Z gardener's notebook
  • SWAP SHOP: free stuff, stuff wanted etc
  • GROWERS CLINIC - your problems.
  • USEFUL LINKS & ADDRESSES
  • ALLOTMENT ORGANISATIONS
  • Ashford Borough Council
  • CONTACT
  • SUMMER SHOW 2015
    • Tips for showing
  • SUMMER SHOW REPORT 2014
    • SUMMER SHOW 2014
    • PRIZES FOR THE 2014 SHOW
    • "Best Plots" competition 2014
  • Other local allotments

No more free plots?

1/8/2015

0 Comments

 
Changes have been made to the rent arrangements for Ashford Borough Council allotment tenants
As well as changing the arrangements for paying rent, the letter which arrived on plotholders' doormats yesterday made a big change to the concessions for pensioners and those on benefits. There will, we are told, be an end to free plots.

Free plots for these groups were introduced many years ago by Ashford Borough Council at a time when take-up allotments was at an all-time low. Those days have gone, and the council has been considering changes for several years now. The proposals in the letter will have to be approved by the Cabinet of the Council (elected members of the Council who make the decisions, as opposed to people in the department of the Environment like Eileen Law or Julie Rogers, who are employed by the Council). However, in the present financial climate it isn't likely that the idea will be rejected.

To clarify, anyone on a means-tested benefit, and anyone receiving the state old age pension, will now qualify for a half-price standard plot - which is now a 5-rod plot (about half the size of the old standard plot). They may still keep any more land they have, of course, but for the rest they will pay the same as anyone else. This means some people who have had their plots free for years will now recieve a bill which, under the new rules, would arrive in October and be payment for the land in advance. If you are unsure of how much land you have, and thus how much money you will be asked for, it will be on your paperwork from the council. If you have lost this, you can find out by contacting Eileen Law at eileen.law@ashford.gov.uk or on 01233 330528

No doubt this will come as an unwelcome surprise to some people. A number of arguments have been put forward for the change. The new scheme has been discussed in the Working Group and members of the Committee of Ashford Allotment Society (many of whom will be affected by the changes themselves) have had an inkling they were coming for a while.

Among the given reasons for the change are:
  • The requirement placed upon the council to balance the money coming in with what they pay out for things like water and so on. Asking everyone to pay something is felt to be less unfair than keeping some plots free and raising the rents much more for everyone else.
  • Things which are free are often not valued enough. There has been an awareness that while some people who have free plots are amongst the keenest and best gardeners on the sites, others do barely enough to keep the plots in their names.
  • Ashford has been keen to bring the allotment services in the Borough in line with what goes on elsewhere. While it would be nice for us to see some of the facilities that other allotmenteers enjoy, it is also true that reduced prices rather than free plots are the norm.
The Working Group will continue to meet to discuss matters relating to the allotments and if you have ideas to add you are invited to bring them forward.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    This website is happy to publicise all garden-related events.
    All the news, views and information posted on this website are produced and written by the website compiler, unless it says otherwise.

    Use the CONTACT box or click on the envelope at the top of the page to send us an item you'd like to see on our news page. Use "Add Comment" to comment on a news item.
    Or email the compiler at ashfordallotments@
    yahoo.co.uk

    Categories

    All
    Allotment Tourism
    Ashford Borough Council
    Beans
    Charities
    Competitions
    Composting
    Courses
    Crime Prevention
    Crop Protection
    Derelict Allotment Sites
    Diseases
    Flooding
    French Beans
    Fruit Bushes
    Garlic
    GROWING TIPS
    Health And Safety
    Leeks
    Machinery
    Men In Sheds
    New Fruit Varieties
    Onions
    Peas
    Pest Control
    Potatoes
    Produce Shows
    Propagating
    Recycling
    Requests For Help
    Rubbish
    Seed Orders
    Seed Potatoes
    Seeds And Plants
    Shallots
    Silly Season
    Site Problems
    Special Events
    Special Offers
    Summer Show
    Tools
    Trading Store
    Volunteering
    Water Problems
    Weather Report
    Weed Problems

    Archives

    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.