Kitchen Garden Forum

Today we received letters from Lord Lambton Estates who we rent our allotments from, saying our rents are going up, it's only going up from £30 to £40 a year-which is still cheap- it's rule 3 on our new agreements that I find a bit annoying! It states that we should only cultivate crops of annual vegetables or other food stuffs but no trees,shrubs or bushes, strawberry plants, asparagus, rhubarb or other crops which continue to be productive for two or more years. I really cannot see their reasoning for this and will be asking them why when I go to pay our rent!!!!!

Dear Mrs L

Sorry to hear this news. At the risk of sounding pessimistic, I suspect the estate has a very good reason for the new rule - but probably will not admit to it. Your site will be much easier (and cheaper) to clear for development in the future without trees and shrubs. There are very few allotments indeed in this part of NW Wales. However, a few months ago it was announced that all the tenants on the allotments at Nefyn were to be evicted by their landlord Glynllifon Estates (Lord Newborough). The reason given was that the estate might, at some unspecified time in the future wish to use the land for development.

Perhaps you and your fellow plotholders need to get your plight into the local media as soon as possible.

The main allotment site in Tiverton was vacated about five years ago, for development. It still stands vacant, but for a few forlorn blackcurrant bushes while the council's waiting list for plots gets longer.

I suppose the rule saves the plot holder from heartache when the times comes for vacating. It would be dispiriting to tend an asparagus bed only for it to be dug up just as it's coming on to crop.

I don't think they intend to take our allotments of us as it was always said that they could not build on this land as there is an underwater spring beneath. I hope not anyway, as sometimes I think it is the only thing that keeps me sane!

mrs l wrote:I don't think they intend to take our allotments of us as it was always said that they could not build on this land as there is an underwater spring beneath. I hope not anyway, as sometimes I think it is the only thing that keeps me sane!

I would still check it out. I mentioned getting this into the local media. Now is precisely the right time to grab their interest given the latest report about food production in the future.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8189549.stm

It looks like Lord Lambton is swimming against the popular tide with this restriction on what you can grow

Lots of allotment rules state this. I think it is so you can't ask for compensation if the plot is taken from you.

Our council used to have this in our agreement but people just planted anyway and nothing was said about it.

I can't see strawberry plants, asparagus, rhubarb being difficult to clear in the event of wishing to clear the land! Can you grow in large tubs - would that get round the problem?

Hi MrsL

Did you get any answers about the new rule?

If this is a new agreement, what about the bushes, trees and perennial crops which may already be on the site?

We too had these rules put in place many years ago when the allotments were first estblished.
But it didn't seem to effect the growth of any of the fruit trees or bushes, infact they seem to have thrived on the challenge.

But i can't see they can do much about established trees and bushes already on your plots.

Just ask the question why? A while ago we were being asked to plant fruit trees and create mini orchards. Loads of information can be gathered from the internet by Googling orchards threat

This link has lots about protecting orchards http://www.england-in-particular.info/orchards/o-note21.html

I read somewhere that as few as three trees can be called an orchard so if the council try and remove any and you have three trees on your plot (or if close enough on your site) they are destroying an orchard.

Food trees etc also increase biodiversity.

The government are also at the moment saying we need to grow more of our own food.

Find out as much as you can and have references to back up your claims. Contact your council, and councillors as their standpoint will be different to the council officers and point out that they are acting contrary to all of this, contact your local papers. Take them on!!!

If it is a case of avoiding compensation claims by evicted tenants then it would be easy to write something into the tenancy agreement to avoid that.

All the other people on the allotments say they are taking no notice of this rule - so I am just going to do the same! When I go down the offices to pay the rent I will still ask the reasoning behind this rule-that will be Friday.

Any news on your new rules Mrs l?

When I went to pay the rent I asked about the rule and was told to just take no notice of it, so I'll just carry on as normal and plant what I want.

Then why put it in the rules.

Sounds just like our council. Have rules and let everyone ignore them - even the sensible ones - which this wasn't!

As you say why have rules it just leaves everyone unsure of what they can and can't do and leads to falling out?

I'm sure it will have something to do with the legalities, maybe taking rented land back that has permanent trees and shrubs growing on it is more complicated than land without. But if you break the rules there would be little you can do.