Baxenden allotments row as rent is set to soar (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Baxenden allotments row as rent is set to soar
2:23pm Friday 6th January 2012 in Baxenden
UP IN ARMS Brian Watts, left, chairman and Frank McVan, treasurer, of Baxenden Allotment and Garden Society
ALLOTMENT holders in Hyndburn face forking out hundreds of pounds after the council hit them with a rise in their rent.
Frank McVan, treasurer of Baxenden Allotment and Garden Society, has slammed the fees as ‘extortionate’ but the council said it was the first increase in 10 years.
Mr McVan’s allotment is at the back of the recreation ground, off Hollins Lane in Baxenden.
His annual rent is going up from £34.45 in 2012 to £90 in 2013.
It will then rise to £130 in 2014, £170 in 2015 and £200 in 2016.
His wife Sheila, who rents a neighbouring plot, is also facing a 100 per cent hike.
Frank said: “The council said each allotment is costing taxpayers £240 to run each year.
“We just can't see how that is true because nothing has ever been spent on this allotment in years.
“The wall fell down 15 years ago and it's still down. I had to put fencing around it. There are no pathways and no maintenance whatsoever.
“There is only a gate because I put one in. The council has spent nothing on this plot so I can't see how they can justify it.”
Now he fears some growers may have to abandon their hobby because of the hefty rent rise.
Frank said: “I know one woman who is facing paying £1,000 a year. People will struggle to pay it. There is a lot of anger about it.”
Brian Watts, 77, who has had an allotment for 54 years, is also dismayed about the rent rise.
He said: “We had a battle a few years ago when they wanted to take the land off us for housing. We fought and kept the allotments.
"There will be action over this. We’re all up in arms about it.”
Coun Ciaran Wells, who oversees the council's 620 plots, has defended the move and said it was part of a £300,000 investment programme over the next five years.
There are currently around 300 people on the waiting list for an allotment.
He said: “To finance this we have had to look at what tenants pay. Each allotment is currently costing local taxpayers £240 per year and this cannot be sustained in the current economic climate.
"Rent levels on allotment sites have been frozen for over ten years. Almost all of our tenants pay less than £1 per week.
"I have secured agreement with cabinet colleagues that no increase would take place until 2013.”
Comments(26)
GAC
says...
2:44pm Fri 6 Jan 12
whirlingdervish
says...
3:10pm Fri 6 Jan 12
ossylad
says...
3:47pm Fri 6 Jan 12
I feel Counc Wells,who is very very ambitious may have made a serious mistake this time. Come back Peter Britcliffe all is forgiven!!!
QuarryGang78
says...
3:51pm Fri 6 Jan 12
whirlingdervish wrote:Frank said: “I know one woman who is facing paying £1,000 a year. People will struggle to pay it. There is a lot of anger about it.”
300 on the waiting list,,299 are by the hurstwood group,,
'Yes.but there is also a lot of people about who will be happy to pay the new fees..Its hard times for everyone am affraid to say..Even the toffs up bash have got to pay a few extra bob for shovelling their own sh1t about.
ratshowilikeit
says...
4:18pm Fri 6 Jan 12
happycyclist
says...
4:49pm Fri 6 Jan 12
When you consider the money the council spend on damage, vandalism and fly-tipping by antisocial people, it's completely unjustifiable to try and claw money back from the sort of people who are probably model citizens.
Whoever proposed this should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
Fight it all the way. What are they going to do? Spend even more money evicting you?
Absolutely pathetic.
Falconer24
says...
4:58pm Fri 6 Jan 12
anotherview
says...
5:57pm Fri 6 Jan 12
anotherview
says...
5:58pm Fri 6 Jan 12
doylerf
says...
6:44pm Fri 6 Jan 12
anotherview wrote:Well, blow me down, so the allotment holders are paying for their own "council investment in allotments."
Do the sums: 620 plots paying £150 per year rent, times 5 years equals £372,000. Well, blow me down, so the allotment holders are paying for their own "council investment in allotments." Most of this money will be spent on consultants, advisers, planners, contractors, three new gates and a fire bucket. Tell the council to get stuffed until they put forward £300,000 of realistic proposals to improve these allotments.
Isn't that the whole point of the rises? It isn't a great deal of money. It still remains relatively cheap.
vegeboy
says...
7:12pm Fri 6 Jan 12
vegeboy
says...
7:12pm Fri 6 Jan 12
fabinribblevalley
says...
8:15pm Fri 6 Jan 12
mavrick
says...
8:37pm Fri 6 Jan 12
Lifeinthemix
says...
10:47pm Fri 6 Jan 12
https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=Vx5rNRNC
15c
anotherview
says...
11:03pm Fri 6 Jan 12
6:44pm Fri 6 Jan 12
anotherview wrote:
Do the sums: 620 plots paying £150 per year rent, times 5 years equals £372,000. Well, blow me down, so the allotment holders are paying for their own "council investment in allotments." Most of this money will be spent on consultants, advisers, planners, contractors, three new gates and a fire bucket. Tell the council to get stuffed until they put forward £300,000 of realistic proposals to improve these allotments.
Well, blow me down, so the allotment holders are paying for their own "council investment in allotments."
Isn't that the whole point of the rises? It isn't a great deal of money. It still remains relatively cheap.
It is ONLY "cheap" if you are well off. Folk on low incomes or the basic pension cannot afford a tenner a week. Yet these people should not be priced out by "free market forces" Do un-employed council house tennants pay £600 a month rent??? No it is often paid for them.
brok
says...
12:56am Sat 7 Jan 12
billy32
says...
10:10am Sat 7 Jan 12
anotherview
says...
11:15am Sat 7 Jan 12
machinehead
says...
1:15pm Sat 7 Jan 12
Idea being that people who have an allotment become stakeholders in the company, their fees are payed to the co-operative which takes responsibility for the maintenance of the plots and pays a rent to the council for use of the land. The object of the co-operative being to break even, or even a little profit as a contingency fund.
I am of course assuming that the council are telling the truth that they merely wish the plots to stop costing the taxpayer money, and there is nothing more sinister behind the increase.
SarzWix
says...
2:48pm Sat 7 Jan 12
SarzWix
says...
2:59pm Sat 7 Jan 12
andveg.co.uk/grapevi
ne/allotment-advice/
battle-allotment-ren
t-increase-result_53
543.html
And to everyone who is having a go at plot-holders for fighting these increases, please remember that allotments have always been a 'peppercorn rent' as they were initially set up to compensate for the common-man's right to use 'common land' being taken away by enclosure. They are not supposed to be a money-making scheme for local councils.
Allowing envy/jealousy of people who have a plot to cloud your judgement over whether it's 'fair' or not won't help anyone, least of all yourselves...
superdad1
says...
2:59pm Sat 7 Jan 12
we have to maintain the fences the land and get no help or compensation from the council for doing this.
The council need to get its act together and stop Illegal fly tipping which cost the tax payer thousands each year clearing up but no they cant catch these people so its the Innocent and the easiest they prey on to get the money to pay for this.
I wonder how many people will remain on the waiting list when they realise how much Hyndburn council are going to charge per plot? It will be cheaper going shopping in Asda for Vegetables than grow your own so much for David Cameron's big society.
Digger84
says...
4:25pm Sun 8 Jan 12
What the council have now, is a ready made allotment site, which was constructed by, and at the expense of, its current tenants. Now that the site is finished, they are trying to drive away the people who did all the work in favour of people willing to pay these extortionate new fees!
DustyMears
says...
2:36pm Mon 9 Jan 12
These rises were muted about 12 months ago and some groups tried to put pressure on HBC officers, make them see sense. Obviously fell on deaf ears
The proposed rise is outrageous and putting allotments into the unaffordable. It's not just a few quid, it's a lot of quid when you’re on low income. For many allotment holder, this is their only supposedly affordable hobby, social pastime.
From Oct 10 to Oct 11, the only substantial spend at Bash (HBC's £500+ spending) is £604.94 water charges (recharged to plot holders anyway) and £525 on a tap repair. BAGS have kept their site going as best they can. If it wasn’t for them taking a lead, the site would be in much worse state than it is. HBC are just taking the p**s.
Same published info, total £84,000 on allotments - mainly Meadoway, Milnshaw and Heys. HBC list major capital projects to be undertaken in 2011/12 - Allotment regeneration budget increasing from £82,000 to £162,000.
I say the £240 cost to tax payers is a red herring, rabble rousing nonsense and the real reasons for their racketeering is to pay for this regeneration – double whammy for plot holders.
HBC blunder from one legal disaster to another at cost to YOU the council tax payer – this is another brewing case.
pepperpot2296 says...
2:33pm Fri 6 Jan 12