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8 February 2010
At last a response from Holyrood, but unfortunately just a holding reply which enables them to comply with their timing rules for replying to correspondence. I took the opportunity to discuss the situation with the gentleman dealing with the problem - Jared Stewart. I was able to confirm to Mr Stewart that since writing in December we had at least established why Aberdeen City Council was so at variance with our view. The City Council thinks that the word regulations has no other possible meaning than formal regulations of the kind required for secondary or delegated legislation. We take the view that because the word regulations is not defined in any of the allotments legislation or in any other legislation that we can find, that the word has the meaning of something or anything that regulates or has the effect of regulating. Our view is reinforced here Legal Directory: Interpretation of the law - The literal rule. I also made Mr Stewart aware of the wording of section 8 of the 1892 Act and section 1(1d) of the 1922 Act which make it abundantly clear that a local authority cannot enforce any regulation unless it has been made by or in pursuance of the allotments legislation. During a further conversation with Mr Stewart he told me that the explanations I gave him today " had added a whole lot of clarity to the matter"
Mr Stewart told me he had yet to talk to Aberdeen City Council, to Cosla and that he would be taking legal advice.No local authority has asked for regulations to be confirmed so none of them appears to be managing their allotments with proper legal authority. It is not just Aberdeen City Council that is affected.
It may take a wee while yet but we will get there.
3 February 2010
still no reply from Holyrood. In the meantime an exchange of emails with a senior Council Officer has at least revealed part of the Council's reason for refusing to accept that they have made regulations. Apparently we are referring to the wrong kind of regulations. The crucial thing is that the word "Regulations" used in the allotments legislation is undefined. In such cases where words are undefined, we think that it is the literal, ordinary and natural/normal usage of a word which should apply and in this case something or anything that regulates or has the effect of regulating. Our view is re-inforced hereLegal Directory: Interpretation of the law - The literal rule.
There is way of understating the importance of this point. If a local authority makes any kind of regulation in any way, it needs to have them formally confirmed by Scottish Ministers before they have any legal effect. John Swinney MSP has responded to several questions about regulations tabled at the Scottish Parliament by Dr Nanette Milne Msp on behalf of local allotment holders recently. The text of the questions and the answers can be seen on this web siteQuestions & Answers Search .
There is a specific question about regulations for rent
S3W-30502 - Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con) (Date Lodged Thursday, January 07, 2010): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authority allotment tenants who have been charged rent as a result of the implementation of regulations that have not been confirmed by the Scottish Ministers in terms of section 6(1) of the Allotments (Scotland) Act 1892 are entitled to have these rents repaid to them.
Answered by John Swinney (Friday, January 15, 2010): A local authority would not be entitled to collect rent under regulations that had not been formally confirmed by Scottish Ministers in terms of section 6(1) of the Allotment (Scotland) Act 1892. Regulations made under this provision have no legal effect without ministerial confirmation. It would be for the local authority to resolve with its allotment holders the issue of rent collected in this manner.
Bottom line.
There is absolutely no justification for the City Council refusing to return the rents improperly/illegally demanded and collected from allotment holders. It is abundantly clear that a local authority cannot legally enforce any informal rules/regulations that it uses to manage its allotments. It can only legally enforce regulations it has made if they have been formally confirmed by Scottish Ministers after publishing and full public consultation . The City Council has admitted it does not have, and never has had any regulations for its allotments.
John Swinney in response to another parliamentary question indicated that no local authority has asked to have regulations confirmed.
In the meantime, the struggle goes on to convince the City Council. Copies of recent emails sent to Mrs Sue Bruce, chief executive of Aberdeen City Council can be seen on the latest news page latest news.
17 January 2010
My letter of 18th January, which you can see by following this link latest news was acknowledged as having been received at Holyrood on 11th January. A reply will be sent to me as soon as possible. In the meantime I've asked that the following comment be considered along with that letter. " "If it is the literal, ordinary and normal meaning of a word which should be used, the lowest level of the meaning of a regulation would be - something or anything that has the effect of regulating"
If you are a Scottish Allotment holder, please see our latest news page.latest news
8 January 2010
Some recent information given to a member by email
Aberdeen Forward was recently awarded a cash sum of £25,000 from the Climate Challenge Fund for remediation of vacant allotments throughout Aberdeen. This basically covers the salary of one employee who will be involved in this project. Any works to be carried out will be done by volunteers. It is a one year project. As soon as I heard about this, I got in touch with Aberdeen forward and have since met with the staff member involved - Corrie Cheyne. I managed to get in before anyone else and the unlettable plots at Sclattie and at Bankhead are to be first in the queue for remediation. It is intended that work will start sometime in February but obviously weather permitting. I don't know about you but if no other plot had been available, I would happily have taken one on even if underneath trees.
It is hoped that three plots at Sclattie and three at Bankhead can be cleared and help reduce the city waiting list.
We have been told by Council Officers that no monies are available for any expenditure on Allotments and that we should try to find external funding from Supermarkets, Oil companies and the likes. Totally unsatisfactory but with the City Finances in the state they are in it is something we have to live with. We will ask that your concerns be noted though.
However, having said that, I wrote to Asda at Dyce on 4th January asking if the ASDA Foundation would be prepared to help meet the cost of water installation at Bankhead. I'm led to understand that the ASDA Foundation does help with local projects and we are local to Dyce so fingers crossed.
I have asked the Council if they will do any necessary excavation works by way of in kind help if we can raise the money to pay for the connection to the mains water supply and the materials.
If anyone can suggest any other possible sources for funding or other fund raising ideas, please let me know.
Very late in December, while attending a meeting of Torry plotters, I discovered that Community Councils had funds to make small improvement grants to local organisations but that if these funds were not paid out by the end of the year, they would be clawed back by the Council. I first of all established that Bucksburn and Newhills CC did have such funds and in the knowledge that it is pointless clearing unfenced plots at Sclattie, (remember we have no perimeter fencing) I obtained prices for fencing materials and asked the Community Council if they would cover the cost if we did the work. The Community Council was happy to oblige and I am presently waiting for our treasurer to collect a cheque from me for £394.51 which covers the whole cost of the materials exc carriage. I'm led to understand that virtually cleaned the CC out and these grants will not be available in future. There is a fly in the ointment. The Council has yet to approve the fencing works and if approval is not forthcoming, the money will have to be paid back. In addition to the fencing, we intend planting hawthorn hedge plants to create a living green fence for the future.
Is it contact details of all site reps throughout the City you are looking for? Bucksburn is treated as one site because of our Association and at the moment, our Chairman, Dave Smith and I are carrying the local mantle after attending the first meeting to try to encourage other sites to form their own associations.
Let me know if you need any further explanations or if you have any further comments.
Frank Taylor
18 December 2009
Anyone who has been a regular visitor to our web site will be aware that we have been in dispute with the City Council after having swingeing increases in rent imposed without prior notice in two successive Council budgets. After it became obvious that there was to be no meeting of minds with the City Council Solicitor, the matter has rumbled on in the background with efforts continuing to achieve a resolution. The issue has moved from being something which affects Aberdeen City Council and local allotments, to being something which has extremely serious implications for all Local Authorities in Scotland which have allotments under their control. A letter has recently been sent to Mrs Roseanna Cunningham MSP, the Cabinet Secretary with responsibility for the Environment. The detail is shown on the latest news page latest news. A copy has also been sent to Mrs Sue Bruce, Chief Executive of the City Council.
17 December 2009
Our Secretary attended a debate at the Scottish Parliament on the subject of Allotments. He was treated to a coffee in one of the cafeteria courtesy of local MSP Dr Nanette Milne who has asked several questions of the Scottish Executive on our behalf recently. Was also given a short tour of the Parliament building. Have to confess to being very impressed but after the mega millions spent on construction would have been disappointed had I not been.
8 November 2009
We hope to issue the first edition of our newsletter very shortly. It is presently in draft form being proof read.
6 November 2009.
We have managed to have yet another point with which we were at variance with Aberdeen City Council clarified
Section 14. of the Allotments(Scotland) Act 1892 provides as follows Register of tenancies.
The local authority shall cause a register to be kept showing the particulars of the tenancy, acreage, and rent of every allotment let, and of the unlet allotments, and such register shall be open to the examination of ratepayers in the burgh or the [1. parish], as the case may be in such manner as may be prescribed by the regulations made under this Act by the local authority, and any ratepayer of such of such burgh or[1. parish], without paying any fee, may take copies of or extracts from such register, and within one month after the fifteenth day of May in every year the local authority shall cause an annual statement showing their receipts and expenditure under this Act in respect of the year ending on that day, to be deposited at some convenient place in the burgh or [1. parish] to which the statement relates, and any ratepayer may without fee inspect and take copies of such statement.
The following enquiry was put to the Information Commissioner - Scotland
' It is my understanding that nothing in the current Data Protection Legislation prohibits a Local Authorities from fulfilling its obligations under any other legislation. Are you in a position to confirm my understanding or otherwise clarify the matter?'
The answer received is clear and unambiguous. The text of the email received from the office of the Information Commissioner - Scotland is as follows
'28th October 2009
Case Reference Number ENQ0275897
Dear Mr Taylor
Thank you for your email of 25 October 2009.
Your understanding that nothing in the Data Protection Act 1998 prohibits a Local Authority from fulfilling its obligations under other legislation is correct.
Should you wish to contact us about this matter please quote the above case reference number. Failure to do so may delay the processing of your request.
If you require any further advice or assistance please contact us on the telephone number below.
Yours sincerely
Anne Gordon
Advice Officer
Information Commissioner’s Office - Scotland
93-95 Hanover Street, EDINBURGH, EH2 1DJ
Telephone: 0131 301 5071
www.ico.gov.uk
15 October 2009
Our visit to the new Fire Station was extremely informative and we must extend our thanks to the Fire Brigade staff for making our visit such an interesting and enjoyable experience.
1 October 2009
Our members have an invitation to visit the new Fire Brigade Building on Anderson Drive on 14th October at 6.45 pm. Members please contact the Secretary franktaylor@bucksburnallotments.co.uk to let him know if you can attend so that we can provide an estimate of numbers
14 June 2009
Really good to see plot 6 at Sclattie with a new tenant. The plot has been a disaster for the last three years and only recently vacated. Council employees have sprayed the plot with round up or similar and the vegetation is rapidly dying back but a huge amount of work will be needed to get this plot back into production. Good luck and much enjoyment to the new tenant.
13 June 2009
Apologies to interested persons for the failure to keep our site updated. Matters relating to our rent dispute withh the Council are still ongoing albeit in the background. A resolution will depend on the interpretation of the relevant parts of Allotments law. Unfortunately the responsible Scottish Minister - John Swinney declined to give any guidance and we are not in a position to be able to afford to pay for legal advice. Possible benefactors please step forward.
On the practical side, Council Officers seem keen to meet with us and with representatives from other sites in the City. Our own Association has already had a useful but largely unproductive meeting with them. The main problem being that Councillors have declined to make funds available for Capital Improvement works on City Allotment sites.
26 April 2009.
One of our elderly members who has health problems is struggling to look after his plot on the Sclattie Quarry Allotment site. He is prepared to share his plot with an enthusiastic vegetable gardener. The plot is presently in a very bad state and a lot of work will be required to get it back into cultivation. The real downside is that anyone sharing a plot with an existing tenant in this manner will not be able to take over the plot in the event of the tenant giving up the plot for any reason so there is a distinct element of risk. If interested please contact our secretary franktaylor@bucksburnallotments.co.uk and he will put you in touch with the allotment holder.
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The benefits of forming an Allotments Association are now becoming obvious to our members. A local garden Centre has agreed to allow a discount to our members on production of our membership card. A further indication was the willingness of Council Officers to meet with all of our members on 23rd April to discuss a variety of issues giving rise to concern following some serious vandalism involving one shed being broken in to and another two sheds burned to the ground. Although we weren't necessarily given the answers we wanted, we nevertheless did get answers and a big thank you to the Council Officers for taking the time to meet with us.
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Our inaugaral General Meeting was held at Bankhead Academy on 11th March 2009. The draft minutes of the meeting and the agreed Constitution document will shortly be circulated to members.
Drew Levy has around half a dozen shed alarms which can be made available to new members on a first come first served basis. To reserve a shed alarm, contact Drew by email - lairddrew.levy@talktalk.net
Check out the latest news page latest newsto learn what is happening about the Rent situation other than what is detailed below
Our deputation to the Council meeting on 11th February consisted of Mr Sandy Inkster from Cults, a plot holder at Garthdee, Drew Levy and Frank Taylor both from Sclattie Quarry. In the event, after hanging around for more than 4 hours, Sandy and Frank had to leave, the heavy snow at the time being an influencing factor as also was the fact that an adjournment had been called and if the speed of previous proceedings was a yardstick, after the adjournment, there was at least an hour of questions and debates on other matters before they would be able to get around to the Allotments situation. Drew however was able to stay and he delivered a pre prepared statement the contents of which can be seen by clicking on the following link. Council Presentation1 Drew reports that although many Councillors spoke in favour of the Allotments they voted 30 to 10 in favour of the proposed £20 rent increase.
A huge thanks to Drew. That makes it twice in the course of a week he has been left alone to fight our cause but he has done very well for us.
We remain convinced that the Council does not have a legally set rent and representations are being made in other places on this matter.
The City Council has developed a new Web Page on the Council website for Allotments. There is a link to that web page on our useful links page.Useful links. The new page is a huge improvement on what was there before but disappointingly, it does not make any reference to the right of tenants to be able to pay only 25% of Rent in advance. Also the size of the plots shown on that web page is innacurate and this has been drawn to the attention of Council Officers.
Brilliant News
Our view that the Council was illegally demanding 100% of the annual allotment rents in advance has been accepted by Aberdeen City Council. In an email dated 4th February, Mrs Sue Bruce informed us that with regard to section 10(2) of the Allotments (Scotland) Act 1950 (as amended), the City Solicitor has advised that this section prohibits the demanding of more than a quarter of the rent in advance.( as we stated) As a consequence measures will be taken to permit tenants to have the option to pay quarterly or annually.
We have asked that Allotment tenants be informed of their right to pay only 25% of the rent quarterly in advance without any delay. This will be of major help to plot holders across the City with their budgeting requirements.
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A huge warm welcome to anyone having a look at our website as a result of receiving a letter forwarded on our behalf by Aberdeen City Council. Welcome also to other visitors.