SALE OF STATUTORY AND OTHER
ALLOTMENT LAND - F.A.Q.S.
Note: the following information is for general guidence and not to be taken as legal advice or instruction. Allotment law looks complicated but can be fun - follow the steps carefully that apply to your case and please avoid forcing people into corners where they will fight pointlessly; be friendly but firm! In a legal case contact Earthrights Solicitors (members of the Environmental Alliance Charity )Their main allotments contact is Charlie Hopkins, Springfield, Kilmington, Axminster, Devon EX13 7SB. Telephone 01297 34405 or e-mail charlie@earthrights.org.uk web www.earthrights.org.uk
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The first and vital step for all types of allotment is to keep in contact with the District planning office. Check for all planning applications affecting your site (statutory, private or temporary) so as to oppose if you need to; and as a group of Friends make sure you are represented in discussion of the Local Development Framework and its allotment implications, which you have a right to do. Always check and do not necessarily accept statements from potential developers as to ownership, plans, rights of way and boundaries or sales or similar matters affecting your Field.
1. What is statutory allotment land?
Statutory allotment land is land acquired by a Council specifically for use as allotments. It makes up about three-quarters of all sites. The government will also consider land owned by a Council, that has been used as allotments for a very long time, as also qualifying for this statutory protection.
2. How can I tell if land is statutory or not?
There is no national register, and it will not be in the Deeds or Registration of the land. You should look at the Council minutes covering the purchase of the land, perhaps in the planning or finance and general purposes committee minutes, or the allotment committee or wherever these matters were handled in the past. You may have to go back many years and to an earlier council where the matter was handled, but the minutes will be stored as public documents. The land may be marked on the local planning map as allotment land, and you can also ask for the history of planning applications for that land. You have full right to search for this information.
This is often a fascinating investigation, even of it takes up some afternoons! Don’t ever give up.
3. Is Statutory land protected?
Yes: it is under Section 8 of the Allotments Act 1925 (so we have “Section 8 orders”). The Secretary of State will not issue this Order for it s sale unless he agrees that adequate arrangements will be made for any plot holders displaced, and the land is not required for allotment purposes any longer. (Hence; full sites are safer sites).
4. How does a council apply to sell statutory allotment land?
All applications are now (2008) dealt with centrally by the Government Office for the West Midlands. Applications and queries should go to: -
Mr Dave Moseley, Allotment Sales, National and West Midlands Planning Casework Team, Government Office for the West Midlands, 5 St. Philips Place, Codmore Row, Birmingham B3 2PW
Your enquiries are (at time of writing) responded to on e-mail by
Miss A L Lidgbird, Planning Support Officer, Sustainable Futures Directorate, Government Office for the West Midlands
Email: angela.lidgbird@gowm.gsi.gov.uk, Tel: 0121 352 5183 (GTN: 6177), Fax: 0121 352 5224
Information is freely available. If you have problems in getting it you can check with: -
Department for Communities and Local Government, Enquiry Services, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE
(Telephone: 020 7944 4400)
But this should not be necessary because of the Freedom of Information Act.
5. How does the Secretary of State decide?
There are at least five questions the Secretary of State will go through, and it is worth while making the case for your answer to one firmly with your Council and the authorities.
(a) Is the allotment in question not necessary ands surplus to requirement?
To dispute this seek wide publicity and work with any friendly councilors. There should be an allotment officer at the Council and also a Councilor appointed to deal with allotment matters (the allotment portfolio holder). Remember friendly personal contact is helpful. You may involve newspapers and local community groups; leaflet surrounding houses likely to face loss of this urban green space; join up with other organisations (horticultural groups, Friends of the Earth, Schools seeking land for their food syllabus requirements, Community Development Officers, Agenda 21 Officer, unemployed groups, church groups [you might write an article for the parish magazine on local food production, healthy exercise, opportunities for isolated people or carers to get out and in contact with nature…).Aim to get as many individual applications for plots on the threatened site to the allotment officer as possible, and keep a record of them. Hand out forms for that purpose (contact SWCAA.cic for help with this if necessary). People may simply need alerting to what is going on and showing how to act in the matter.
(b) Are adequate arrangements going to be made for displaced plot holders or is such provision of new land not necessary or not practicable?
The general rule seems to be that this alternative land should be within a mile. If a number of plot holders are involved, the parish, town or metropolitan council will be the statutory allotment provider by law, and so faces a quandary. Persuade them they are losing a council asset which would be impossibly costly to replace. These days, with the changing attitudes to allotments and steadily increasing demand, councils need your support in turning round the policy from the days when allotments were of less public interest – a difficult change and they are to be congratulated on responding to it!. Item 2 of Council meetings will often provide an opportunity for your group to address the Council. You and your friends can approach the Clerk for this chance to set out a well-argued, courteous and decent case. In the past angry plot holders have sometimes given us a bad name and been dismissed as a cantankerous lot best rid of, so it is important to avoid giving offence or an impression of quarrelsomeness that only plays into the land speculator’s hands. Be reasonable: - Firm, Friendly, Fair.
(c) Has the number of people on the waiting list been effectively taken into account?.
The key word is “effectively” . Waiting lists are sometimes discouraged by overworked officials, so it is worth following this one up carefully. Seek publicity in order to get people who would want a plot there to let you know – the officers may be constrained by the data protection act from telling you directly. Tell the GOWM your findings. Look up the Council's mission statement - its commitments with regard to public service, efficiency and openness: you can use points from that to help persuade Councillors by drawing attention to your case under these headings and as a way of complying with those aims.
(d) Has the council actively promoted and publicised the availability of the allotment sites and consulted widely?
This step can be dealt with in line with your work on (a) above. Have people been turned away? Or discouraged by poor fencing and unkempt ground? Can the Council show advertisements, posters and bulletins asking for plot applications and offering inducements such as a rent-free start on overgrown plots? Three year’s of such efforts is general requirement and should be provable.
(e) Have the implications for other Council policies, especially development plan policies, been taken into account ?
Planning Policy Guidance Note 17 (February 2002) requires Councils to include provision of recreational and green space in their development plan for their area. That includes land for allotment field provision.
This is a duty. The Local Government Association (LGA) wrote to town halls in March 2008 to use their powers to compel developers to allocate land for green space , and for allotments where there are waiting lists and a shortage of land for growing fruit and vegetables: (Planning and Compensation Act 1991). There should also be consultation with allotment holders on this planning (so it seems forming a group of Friends will get you included in the discussion).
How is the planning undertaken?
The Government has supplied Council planners with a chart for organising this planning process as follows. From “Start” take them through to the desired rejection or else to new statutory land. VIEW CHART
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6. What are non-statutory allotment fields?
These are mostly Temporary Sites. They may have been bought by the Council for some other use, and have been allowed for allotments in the meantime, or they may be rented by the Council from a landlord. Check ownership and official planning consents in the District or Metropolitan Council offices for the site: it is usually clear, though there have been cases where false claims to ownership have been made, especially of land held by a charity trust.
Temporary allotments are about 13% of the total. Still protection for them might be gained from the planning process (as above). Also remember ( even if the Council does not) that since the Council is the statutory allotment provider it may have a duty to replace lost plots if gardeners apply for them. To win that case best not start legal arguments, but work on publicity and face-to-face meetings to gain overwhelming friendly public support and so win the new allocation of land if possible.
The remainder are private sites which depend entirely on the arrangements between the landowner and the plot-holders; and some run by charities, the Church, or trusts set up under the Enclosure Acts and so on. Again planning controls may apply, and under the 1908 Smallholder's and Allotments Act the council’s duty to provide kicks in when these alternatives are inadequate.
Parish, Town and single-tier councils appear to be bound in law to provide allotments where there is an unsatisfied demand. They can acquire the land needed by purchase or by leasing it for allotment use; or by compulsory purchase or by compulsory lease. Parishes and Town Councils would make a case to their District Council, which can then undertakes the legal work necessary, probably under the Acquisition of Land Act, and also arrange financing schedules. The help of the Legal Department or a Solicitor is necessary. So all may not be lost when land is withdrawn, quite apart from the use of planning requirements.
Don’t be disheartened if you discover a legal minefield here: things are much more fun, up-to-date and easy to understand than that. Councils sometimes develop ways of dealing with allotments as they go along. Have a look at “Reinventing your site” Chapter Five of The Allotment Handbook (2nd Edition 2005) by Sophie Andrews (published by eco-logic books) which you can beg, borrow or even buy as it is not out of reach for most pockets.
7. Where does the money go?
What happens to the money (sometimes many £millions) a Council gets from selling its allotment land is a vexed question.
Section 32 (2) of the 1908 Act says: the proceeds of a sale under this Act of land acquired for allotments, and any money so received by the council .. shall be applied (i.e. used) in discharging ...the debts of the council in respect of the land acquired by the council for allotments, or in acquiring, adapting, and improving other land for allotments, and any surplus remaining may be applied for any other approved purpose.....
Section 23 of the Act imposes a duty on local councils to provide allotments where there is a need.
Barrister’s advice to SWCAA is (roughly) that taking the two sections together requires the Council to apply the sale-money to meeting current allotment demand. But sometimes it is not used for allotments.
Earthrights Charlie Hopkins may have a copy of this advice, and could be consulted if the sales money seems to be vanishing while plots are not replaced.
8. Should I start a campaign?
If gardeners walk away our hobby will disappear, and so with it this source of health and local food, recreation, contact with nature and social activity. You have every right to ask questions and have them answered and to see things done properly. Being an active citizen is far from being awkward. Be polite of course, fair and firm. England is everyone’s garden and we have a right to a place in it, to make our own personal work of art there as part of nature.
You may find yourself giving press, radio or TV interviews. If you are not used to that, remember confidence comes with practice and everyone had to start once.
A few tips are|: relax, be patient and explain simply. Nothing will be “off the record” so don’t engage in confidential chit-chat or gossip. Be concise – no one wants a lecture on gardening or personal problems. Never guess – just say “I don’t know the answer to that” and do not apologise for your lack of an answer. Tell the truth and don’t make accusations – the phrase “it seems that” or “ it appears that” etc. should be on your lips. Never say “no comment” – it arouses suspicions. Don’t be surprised if some of the information is cut out of the report, or some inaccuracies creep in while hurried editing is done. Offer photographs to illustrate your point, or co-operate with the visiting photographer if there is one to show your case in the best light. Above all do not get riled or fight with the reporter, because you can only lose when the interview is published. Write a letter of thanks afterwards for the interest shown.
In a campaign build up your contacts: there may be many local organisation listed in your area that would support you, as well as individuals. There are also national groups that can advise and campaign – SWCAA.cic will help
HELPFUL CONTACTS
The Land is Ours (a radical movement also involved in the third world) with its local groups will try to help local campaigns to get off the ground, also works with communities around Britain which are trying to save common spaces or reclaim land for the community. They can help with research and media work, lobbying, and networking. Contact them on www.tlio.org.uk
Seeds for Change
The Training and Support section offers: - Resources. Groups and Meetings Practical Skills for Campaigning Groups Planning your Campaign, Research and Strategy Media, Publicity and Outreach Funding ... www.seedsforchange.org.uk
Local Government Ombudsman
If things
get sticky and the Council is ignoring you or proper procedure you can turn to them. They write:- For advice on making a complaint over the telephone, please contact the LGO Advice Team on 0845 602 1983 - or on 024 7682 1960 ( please note that calls may be recorded for training and quality purposes). The Advice Team are available Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.00pm. You can also text 'call back' to 0762 480 4323.
There are three Local Government Ombudsmen in England. Each of them deals with complaints from different parts of the country, but all new complaints will go to the LGO Advice Team (see above). Make your complaint over the phone, or send it to:
The Local Government Ombudsman
PO Box 4771
Coventry CV4 0EH Fax: 024 7682 0001
Please note the Ombudsman does NOT investigate Parish or Town Councils.
We are very interested to hear your feedback. Please let us know of any apparent difficulties or inaccuracies you meet in this advice, or improvements you would like to see.
E-mail swc.aa@virgin.net
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