Allotment waiting list

LFC · Allotment waiting list

Can anyone tell me where I can find out the number of households there are in Calne?

I am getting fed up with being told the waiting list for allotments is long and I still have to wait a further 2 years. I have done some reading on the law surrounding this issue but need the number of households to be able to judge whether Calne has enough or not.

Most allotment strategies quote the 1969 Thorpe Report which recommends a minimum provision equivalent to 15 per 1,000 households, but this is not legally binding

If the council believes that there is a demand for allotments; they have a statutory duty to provide a sufficient number of plots. Section 23 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908.

As far as I can gather we have 90 plots in Calne, which looks like it is enough for 6,000 households.

Can anyone either give me the figure or tell me where to look ?

Local lass

you should try the allotments up by trinty i know some one who was told that they were all being used ,when they were up there they did a bit of research and found that 3 were empty,she went back to the council and got one .

Peter Dolman

amazingly enough the number of households is around the 6,000 mark. In 2006/7 it was approx 5,280 and this year approx 350 from the byepass officially became part of the town. You could always make a request under the Freedom of Information Act to the town council to get the up to date figure.

The problem is available land, during my time as a town councillor we spent considerable time and effort trying to identify land suitable and importantly at the right price, to increase the number of allotments.

Any new allotments will need to be within the town and be accessible for all. The town council can compulsaryly(?) purchase land but landlords can and would argue that the going right is considerably greater than the town can afford.
Land suitable for allotments is also potentially prime building land and as such will be worth many times agricultural land.

In 2006 every house hold was subsidising allotments to the tune of £2.50 per year to benefit 90 alotment holders.
I have no problem with that but if it needed tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds to buy more allotment land I may personally have an issue.

Local lass

there should be arule that the peoplewho have allotments ,should keep them up or they should lose it.quite a few are unkept.

Chepfer

There has been an empty unused allotment behind trinity for quite some time now !!!! Perhaps its worth asking about.

I know io alos mentioned before that the old allotments along castle street have been vacant for as long as i can remember .... theres the potential for literally about 30 allotment there though Peter informed me that its privately owned ...surley some agreement could be made to ope the area up again ?!

In fact i am writing a lett er to the TC right now about it !

djq

Might be worth looking into the landshare scheme that Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's been promoting.

Peter Dolman

I think the Castle Street "allotments" have been disused for 10 or 20 years and have been part of a parcel of land subject to planning applications.

Not sure about the back of Trinity School but that must be private land.

There is a clause in the allotment contract which states that it has to be kept up to a good standard. If you know of any that are not then report it to the town council.

estest

i emailed the council on the 8th of july 2009 asking if any more allotments would be issued the reply i got i have posted below. Also i think that if people do not keep up with using their allotment it should be taken off them and given to people who would actually use them.

"Thank you for your e-mail regarding allotments.

I can assure Calne Town Council is very aware of the need for new allotments within the Town. At present plans are underway to provide new allotments. However, a large number of people on the waiting list are requesting we provide allotments on the south side of the town as there are already allotments at Beversbrook and near the Town Centre and this needs to be investigated.

I will keep your name on my list of very interested people and let you know as soon as possible when the new allotments are approved and their location"

Chepfer

I had a reply back from Alan hill (my local t.c) and he will be passing my suggestion on tothe town clerk to look at, in respect to allotments at the old castle street site.

Peter Dolman

the reply from the council confirms that currently all the town's allotments are in the north of the town. residents in the south do deserve the opportunity to rent allotments but the question is where is the land and how much will the council have to pay for it.

How much per acre would you pay?

report in last weeks gazette and a look at monday nights ammenities committee meeting confirms that allotment rents are being reviewed. If I remeber correctly when I was a councillor a resolution was passed increasing them by the RPI, as of September 1st, each year.

Chepfer

I'd be willing to pay more than i do ... in fact i'd pay double the current figure !!!!

I pay about £15 per annum at the moment, which is very good value for money i think !

Local lass

good place for a new allotment would be the field where the =y are opposing all the houses near silver street .

Peter Dolman

not sure charlie boy would be happy to forgo the profit from building houses.

Local lass

but i doubt he would get so much objection from it.he will get the houses on there any way.he has a nasty tendency to get what he wants dispite the objections.