Hello all,
Barnet council (cons), whom I deplore for many reasons, have just
announced an unbelievable increase in rent for all our allotments with
double rent for non-residents. This is another measure they are
employing to get the land to sell to property developers as it is at a
premium in this borough.
We also have quite a few non-residents who live in inner city areas with
no gardens or allotments, or even green areas. They bring their
children and teach them about growing and working as a community. They
even bring custom to our shops and other services. This will deter them
as travail is already expensive for them and so we will have empty
plots.

Please can anyone with an allotment in London let me know how much rent
you are paying as their excuse is that they are trying to bring us in
line with other London areas.

Also (all allotment holders in England) if this kind of harassment has
been experienced by you what did you do?

There is a high court ruling which says that allotment rents can only be
raised by the same proportion as other council rec facilities but they
are ignoring this as they ignore any kind of feedback or consultation
from the people of this borough. We will go to court if need be.
Hopefully we can get them voted out next election (but then will that
change this land problem anyway!)

Many thanks in anticipation.
--
Jan - N. London

On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 12:04:50 +0100, Jan
wrote:

Barnet council (cons), whom I deplore for many reasons, have just
announced an unbelievable increase in rent for all our allotments with
double rent for non-residents.

snip

You should post this in uk.rec.gardening. USAsians don't have
allotments, more's the pity.

"Frogleg" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 12:04:50 +0100, Jan
wrote:

Barnet council (cons), whom I deplore for many reasons, have just
announced an unbelievable increase in rent for all our allotments with
double rent for non-residents.

snip

You should post this in uk.rec.gardening. USAsians don't have
allotments, more's the pity.

You have "community gardens" though, don't you? so educate me if you will,
how are they organised, who owns/allocates them? are they a municipal
function or a private matter?

Steve

In message , Frogleg
writes
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 12:04:50 +0100, Jan
wrote:

Barnet council (cons), whom I deplore for many reasons, have just
announced an unbelievable increase in rent for all our allotments with
double rent for non-residents.

snip

You should post this in uk.rec.gardening. USAsians don't have
allotments, more's the pity.

I did and got no replies. Didn't realise this NG was just for the USA.
Apologies.
--
Jan - N. London

"shazzbat" wrote in message ...
"Frogleg" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 12:04:50 +0100, Jan
wrote:

Barnet council (cons), whom I deplore for many reasons, have just
announced an unbelievable increase in rent for all our allotments with
double rent for non-residents.

snip

You should post this in uk.rec.gardening. USAsians don't have
allotments, more's the pity.

You have "community gardens" though, don't you? so educate me if you will,
how are they organised, who owns/allocates them? are they a municipal
function or a private matter?

Steve

Steve - community gardens (cg) in America are very diverse...

They may be supported by University Agricultural extensions.

Here is a list from the American CG Assoc. -
http://www.communitygarden.org/links/index.html#Gardens

In Fortuna, CA folks pay $20/year to rent a space in the plot. The
garden is run by a consortium of the City of Fortuna, AmeriCorps
volunteers, the Ag extension and a local church.

In Minneapolis, MN - many gardens are run by in conjunction with the
school system. At Farm in The City - 6' x 20' plots are $10/season.
Check out their very cool site: http://www.farminthecity.org/.

Here in Denver, CO the Denver Urban Gardens are funded by federal
grants plus a bunch of contributors - http://dug.org/funders.html.
The cost for a plot varies by location.

In Boulder, CO where land is at a premium - it is $65 for 400 sf, $41
for 200 sf & $29 for 130 sf.

Many of the smaller ones are run in conjunction with schools. That is
how the one near my college was set-up.

Hope this helps...
~b

I did and got no replies. Didn't realise this NG was just for the USA.
Apologies.

It's not, but there are plenty of us here.

Many of the smaller ones are run in conjunction with schools. That is
how the one near my college was set-up.

There was one at the University I went to, too. It was for those of us
living in campus apartments, then if nobody else wanted them, for the
public. As I recall, it was $5-$15 for the season. The soil was poor,
because people just planted and harvested instead of enriching the soil.

"Jan" wrote in message
news
In message , Frogleg
writes
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 12:04:50 +0100, Jan
wrote:

Barnet council (cons), whom I deplore for many reasons, have just
announced an unbelievable increase in rent for all our allotments with
double rent for non-residents.

snip

You should post this in uk.rec.gardening. USAsians don't have
allotments, more's the pity.

I did and got no replies.

You have now :-))


Didn't realise this NG was just for the USA.
Apologies.

It's not, but is largely populated by americans. They seem to tolerate us
fairly well though. Comes from being gardeners I suppose.

Steve

On Wed, 28 Apr 2004 17:41:02 +0100, Jan
wrote:

In message , Frogleg
writes
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 12:04:50 +0100, Jan
wrote:

Barnet council (cons), whom I deplore for many reasons, have just
announced an unbelievable increase in rent for all our allotments with
double rent for non-residents.

snip

You should post this in uk.rec.gardening. USAsians don't have
allotments, more's the pity.

I did and got no replies. Didn't realise this NG was just for the USA.
Apologies.

This news group is not just for the USA.. just some of us are a tad
ethnocentric ;-) Folks in here from UK, Australia, NZ that I've seen
and I'm sure there are and have been folks from other places. I know
I've seen someone in one of the groups from Finland, can't remember if
it's rec.gardens or rec.gardens.edible.. but .. it's for EVERYONE :-D

As to community gardens. ..in my area, Boise Idaho, ours have usually
been vacant land that has no immediate plans for sale or development
that have been persuaded to allow people to grow gardens on, as it
would keep the weeds down, and in some cases maybe give them a tax
break. Others may be land owned by the city but again, not ready for
development that year or maybe for several years, so it allows gardens
there. I don't think we have any permanent community garden areas.

People who want to garden may apply for a plot, and in many cases
there is no fee, it's just first come first served. In other areas
there may be a small fee for water use etc. It varies with the
circumstances, as I'm sure it varies in each place around the country.
As the areas become more urban I'm sure that the availability would
decrease and cost probably go up. But that's just a guess on my part!

I hope you find your answers!

Janice

writes:
In message , Frogleg
writes
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 12:04:50 +0100, Jan
wrote:

Barnet council (cons), whom I deplore for many reasons, have just
announced an unbelievable increase in rent for all our allotments with
double rent for non-residents.

snip

You should post this in uk.rec.gardening. USAsians don't have
allotments, more's the pity.

I did and got no replies. Didn't realise this NG was just for the USA.
Apologies.
--
Jan - N. London

It isn't, and I'm fairly certain that wasn't what was meant. I took it as
a suggestion to post that specific item where you might get meaningful
responses. There are many of us who are interested in gardening
practices, and problems, all over the world, especially in countries in
which we might have something in common. Given the diversity of the
U.S.A., that would be everywhere. :-)

When I read your post, I felt badly for you that you must pay for a garden
plot. We don't have much along that line in our particular community, but
when we do have community gardens available (in publicly owned space), we
simply apply for them. Basically, first come, first serve with last
year's gardeners getting first spaces available. They are relatively
small in size, but the City provides the tilling and the water. Neglected
spaces are not re-issued to the same people the following year. From
reading other posts in response to yours, it appears we are among the more
fortunate.

The disadvantage of ours is that when the City (or other agency) decides
to do something else with the land, the gardeners are out of luck. The
only good part of that is that it isn't done in the middle of the season.

Glenna

On Wed, 28 Apr 2004 11:31:58 +0100, "shazzbat"
wrote:


"Frogleg" wrote

You should post this in uk.rec.gardening. USAsians don't have
allotments, more's the pity.

You have "community gardens" though, don't you? so educate me if you will,
how are they organised, who owns/allocates them? are they a municipal
function or a private matter?

As another poster writes, they are "diverse." Also few and
far-between. My 'community' plot was at a NASA facility, where a big
open field was kindly made available for gov't and contractor
employees. It wasn't part of NASA (or Federal gov't) policy/practice
-- just a local feature 'sponsored' by the Activities Association.
Similarly, the beekeepers club was allowed to keep hives in nearby
woods (and we gardeners were warned not to use Seven).

Community gardens are *not* a regular part of USAsian life. I note the
list of links Becca supplied has no entries for Virginia or many other
states. The Parks & Recreation dept. of one city here allowed the use
of a plot of ground for the first time last year. Unfortunately, it
had no fence or security and was totally vandalized within a couple of
months.

Europeans are lucky that allotments and similar are well-established
traditions.

On Wed, 28 Apr 2004 17:41:02 +0100, Jan
wrote:

In message , Frogleg
writes
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 12:04:50 +0100, Jan
wrote:

Barnet council (cons), whom I deplore for many reasons, have just
announced an unbelievable increase in rent for all our allotments with
double rent for non-residents.

snip

You should post this in uk.rec.gardening. USAsians don't have
allotments, more's the pity.

I did and got no replies. Didn't realise this NG was just for the USA.
Apologies.

Sorry to have given that impression. Rec.gardens isn't exclusive at
all. I only meant that urg would be more pertinent to your specific
query. Particularly since it was directed toward "anyone with an
allotment in London."

On Wed, 28 Apr 2004 19:15:55 -0700, (Glenna Rose)
wrote:

When I read your post, I felt badly for you that you must pay for a garden
plot. We don't have much along that line in our particular community, but
when we do have community gardens available (in publicly owned space), we
simply apply for them. Basically, first come, first serve with last
year's gardeners getting first spaces available. They are relatively
small in size, but the City provides the tilling and the water. Neglected
spaces are not re-issued to the same people the following year. From
reading other posts in response to yours, it appears we are among the more
fortunate.

Where do you live, Glenna? I want to move there. :-) Your arrangement
sounds like what I had at NASA -- tilling and water provided --
'though there *was* a $9/yr fee. There were/are 36 20'x40' plots and
the diversity of gardens, styles, and people was fascinating. I
learned a great deal.

If it makes you feel any better, while we don't have your specific
problem here in most of the United States, our 'leaders' rarely listen
to us either. Well, I should say they listen, because they have to,
but most of the time they don't HEAR what we are saying.

My cousin lives in a community that was surrounded by woods. A
development company moved in and because they want to start a 'housing
community' it meant that my cousin and everyone on his street and many
of the streets connected to the little suburb would be adversely
affected and have to have to sewers replaced etc... at the expense of
himself and his neighbors. His neighborhood council banded together
and they voted no to the proposed changes THREE times.

In the end, the developer wound up getting his way and because of that
each home owner in my cousins neighborhood has been levied an
assuagement of anywhere from 17-25k depending on how far the house is
from the sewer and water lines being put in to the street.

Anyway.. thought I'd share. It's the same situation on a parallel....
just different specifics.

Cinnamon


Jan wrote in message ...
Hello all,
Barnet council (cons), whom I deplore for many reasons, have just
announced an unbelievable increase in rent for all our allotments with
double rent for non-residents. This is another measure they are
employing to get the land to sell to property developers as it is at a
premium in this borough.
We also have quite a few non-residents who live in inner city areas with
no gardens or allotments, or even green areas. They bring their
children and teach them about growing and working as a community. They
even bring custom to our shops and other services. This will deter them
as travail is already expensive for them and so we will have empty
plots.

Please can anyone with an allotment in London let me know how much rent
you are paying as their excuse is that they are trying to bring us in
line with other London areas.

Also (all allotment holders in England) if this kind of harassment has
been experienced by you what did you do?

There is a high court ruling which says that allotment rents can only be
raised by the same proportion as other council rec facilities but they
are ignoring this as they ignore any kind of feedback or consultation
from the people of this borough. We will go to court if need be.
Hopefully we can get them voted out next election (but then will that
change this land problem anyway!)

Many thanks in anticipation.

"shazzbat" writes:
You should post this in uk.rec.gardening. USAsians don't have
allotments, more's the pity.

You have "community gardens" though, don't you? so educate me if you will,
how are they organised, who owns/allocates them? are they a municipal
function or a private matter?

AFAIK we have no community gardens here in Sydney, but I do know that
they have community gardens in Melbourne because they have featured on
some interesting tv docos. There has never been any mention of cost to
the user, so I assume they are cost-free. Some are on land owned by the
city council, some on a public housing block for use by residents in that
housing block of hundreds of apartments. I reckon google would turn up a
lot of information, otherwise try asking on soc.culture.australian,
aus.general, or aus.gardens if you can subscribe to it.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)