First of thank you for giving me a contact email address.
If I can first of all summarise my concerns by saying that Allotment holders in Aberdeen think that Aberdeen City Council is not administering the allotments in the city in accordance with the legislation.
1.While researching on the internet, I became aware of Caroline Gardners involvement in a report concerning property transactions in Aberdeen including the sale of the Seafield Club and adjoining allotment site.
I became concerned that Aberdeen City Council may not have dealt properly with that part of the sale proceeds received in terms of the allotments legislation.
Did Caroline Gardner concern herself at all with what happened to the monies received or were her investigations limited to events up to and including receipt of the sale proceeds?
The allotments legislation is all old but from what I read, I think that local authorities are not entitled to simply add the proceeds of sale from allotments to General Capital Account. I suspect that is what happened in Aberdeen. My own feeling is that the part of the proceeds relating to the allotment should have been kept in an allotments capital account until dealt with according to the allotments legislation. Unfortunately, it seems that the monies lost to the city in the Seafield club transaction were actually a direct loss to the Allotments capital account. Some monies from the actual sale would however still relate to the allotment site.
Aberdeen City Allotments have been described as having the poorest facilities in Scotland (Judy Wilkinson of Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society). Having a capital fund available for improvements would be a huge boost
2. In February this year, Aberdeen Council increased allotment rents by 80% across the board.
At the same time measures were put in place to reduce spending on allotments by some £33k.
Before the increase, Aberdeen allotment rents were just slightly less than the average in Scotland at £27.75 for a full plot but over average for a half plot at £19.05.
After the increase, Aberdeen Allotment rents were highest in Scotland by some way at
£50 for a full plot and £34.30 for a half. Nominal water charge in addition.
Tenants were not informed of the increases until they received rent demands just over a week ago.
The council now proposes a further increase in full plot rents to take them up to £70, half plots will now be £35. both amounts now include water. i.e. Council is now charging pro rata for part plots.
As far as we can see, that increase is part designed to address complaints that part plot rents were disproportionately high. Allotment holders had asked that the rent for a part plot be set at half the level of the full plot rent. Instead, the Council had doubled the already increased half plot rent to arrive at a level for a full plot.
We think this is tantamount to increasing rent levels on a whim and not in accordance with the allotments legislation
3. Aberdeen Council demands payment in full in advance for allotment rents. We think the legislation prohibits demanding more than one quarter of the rent where it is demanded in advance.
4. The allotments legislation demands that a register of tenants be kept and available for public inspection. Aberdeen Council is denying access to that information citing the data protection act. We understand this would be a concern but would have thought that the data protection act would allow local authorities to use the information in accordance with their legal obligations. We understand this issue is presently with The Councils legal department. We are presently unable to access information needed to let us contact all the other allotment tenants in Aberdeen.
5. Perhaps most importantly, we think that the allotment accounts produced to councillors to allow them to make crucial decisions on matters such as rent are prepared using the wrong accounting protocols. I was told during a telephone conversation with Councillor Kevin Stewart, depute leader of Aberdeen City Council yesterday that the Council does not treat capital expenditure as such unless it exceeds £20,000. That may be correct and acceptable where dealing with a council budget in terms of multi millions but wholly inappropriate when dealing with accounts necessary in terms of the allotments legislation especially if the income is in single thousands. There has been improvement and construction works carried out on Aberdeen City Allotments sites.
The recently completed allotments management policy was published as recently as 7th October 2008. It can be accessed from the web site of Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society.
In that document at item 3.1.5.the council sets out an objective to 'develop clear and transparent accounting procedures to allow assessment of the full revenue and capital income and expenditure for allotments.' it also states 'This is a legal requirement'
In our view, it is a requirement which has subsisted since the inception of the legislation in 1892.
It seems the correct records are not presently being kept and as a result the correct information is not being produced.
6. Also in the same document at item 3.1.8. there is set out a procedure for dealing with the proceeds of sale of allotment sites which does not marry up with the provisions of the allotments legislation.
7. We think the increases in allotments rent are designed to reduce demand and so create a surplus capacity which would allow sales of city centre allotment sites. City centre sites at Gray Street, Holburn Street and Nellfield Place are predominately comprised of full plots and affected by the latest rent increase proposals. The Council is now painfully aware of the potential value of allotment sites.
8. We do not think the council is entitled to charge more for a half plot than a pro rata share of a full plot rent.
9. We think people may already have be surrendering allotments because of increases implemented on the basis of wrong information.
as you will see, we have a lot of concerns most of which relate to the application of the allotments legislation. There may be more which I cannot recall at this moment. Could you perhaps address the foregoing and also the following questions?
1. Is Audit Scotland the body which should address these concerns.
2. Are individuals entitled to contact Audit Scotland and request that investigations be made.
3. If the answer to either of the two questions above is no, could you please advise the correct procedures.
4. Aberdeen City Council sits to consider it's final budget proposals on 5th February 2009. These issues need to be resolved prior to that date.
5. If Audit Scotland takes this up, I would prefer that it go forward as having been brought up by my local Councillor Barney Crocket who has agreed that this be done. I have copied this email to him and you will see his email address if you need to oontact him for confirmation. He is very aware of all the issues
Thank you
Frank Taylor
acting secretary
Bucksburn Allotments Association
44 Cruickshank Crescent
Aberdeen
18 December 2008 I knew there was something else, Councillor Kevin Stewart said to me the other day during a telephone conversation that the allotment rents were amazingly cheap taking account of the capital value of land in this area. We think it is the agricultural value which the allotments legislation requires to take into account. Agricultural rents in this area are between £35 and £55 per acre which equates to less than £4 per full plot. The rent the council now seeks to achieve equates to £1170 per acre
Frank Taylor
Aberdeen
8 January 2009 Mr Leishman,
for your information, I have forwarded a copy of an email sent today to the Chief executive of Aberdeen City Council. You will see that it has been confirmed that the City Council is not entitled to charge more than a quarter of the annual rent in advance and that as a consequence our allegation about this particular breach of the allotments legislation is substantiated.
I can send you the copy letter from John Swinney in due course if you so require.
I am leaving it to Aberdeen City Council and to Audit Scotland (if you so decide) to investigate whether our other allegations are substantiated
Kind regards
Frank Taylor
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Forwarded Message:
Mrs Bruce,
further to the email I sent you shortly before xmas, I have today received from Councillor William Young a copy of a letter dated 18th December 2008 which he received from John Swinney Cabinet Secretary .
In that letter, Mr Swinney confirms and I quote " it is the case that if rent is more than £1 the council are only entitled to charge up to a quarter of the annual rent in advance" .
It has been suggested to me that I ask you to refer the matter to the Monitoring Officer to investigate why there has been a clear breach of an Act of Parliament. However, other than mentioning that suggestion, I am more than happy for you to decide upon the appropriate course of action. My only concern is to ensure that Aberdeen Allotment holders are charged the legally determined amounts of rent at the appropriate times.
Kind regards
Frank Taylor