"Esplanade" wrote in message
...

Hello to everyone here.

we've been on a council allotment waiting list for nearly 3 years. When
we joined we were #22 on the list. No movement. We've tried:
waiting
phoning
writing
emailing with photos of empty plots
and being a pain in the b*** generally.

Now we are #47 in the list - Yes TRUE! (so being a P-i-t-B didnt work)

The trouble is that out of 50 plots - 30% of them are untended and just
growing weeds. The council just wont release... no reason, they're not
selling the site or anything. It's either side of a public park and is a
real mess...

There's a new guy now looking after the list and we've forced him to
act. A lot of non-cultivation orders have been served but we know that
half of the people have either moved (or died) and will not respond.
Then there's all those people who have mysteriously appeared in the
list.

The summer's here (again), we know that we'll not get anywhere without
making a real fuss and by making a fuss - we will make things even
worse. Even though we now have replies acknowledging our commitment,
deep down we know it's not going to happen.

We're desperate for advice and to try to raise the profile of this..
we've started a blog now as a record (please feel free to visit and to
comment please) and I guess (if its necessary) one day we'll have to
name and shame the council into action...

such a terrible waste..


Do you have a local Allotment Society?
If not, have you joined/considered joining the Nationasl Society of
Allotment and Leisure Gardeners?
They could probably bring additional pressure.

Waiting list management is generally bad across councils, I suspect, and
they do need pushing to move.

Having said that, when I contacted our council earlier this year it turned
out that I was at the top of the waiting list (although they hadn't told me)
so we do have an allotment now.
You may well find that the people higher up the waiting list are not able to
take up a plot this year so you may have a better chance than list position
suggests.

Cheers

Dave R
--
No plan survives contact with the enemy.
[Not even bunny]

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

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