To try to get the attention of City Councillors the following has been sent in an email to Councillor George Adam who has agreed to circulate to all City Councillors. Grateful thanks to Councillor Adam and also to Councillor Crocket who is also beavering away on our behalf.
'This email is intended to alert all councillors to the situation regarding the City Allotments.
There is a proposal detailed on page 172 of the budget proposals posted on the city web site to increase charges for a full plot by a further £20 on top of the 80% increases imposed by the Council at their budget meeting last February.
Aberdeen now already has the highest allotment rents in Scotland but some of the poorest facilities. That description is a direct quote from Judy Wilkinson of Scottish Allotments and Garden Society in a local radio talk in show last Sunday. A damning indictment.
The increases in rents were accompanied by a reduction in spending in allotments
2007-8 £69157.63 2008-9 £36153 a reduction of £32999.
The next highest place to have an allotment is Edinburgh where they have far superior facilities and services. Edinburgh is held up as “Best Practice ' for other local authorities to follow.
The charges in the other Scottish cities are as follows
Edinburgh(inc water and a subscription of £3 Full plot £48 Half plot£24
Dundee Full plot £30 Half plot£15
Glasgow Full plot £30.50 Half plot£15.50
In Aberdeen the charges
Were increased last February to Full plot£50 Half plot££34.05
Separate water charge in addition £1.05
We dispute legality of non pro rata charging
Allotment holders only informed last week on issue of Rent demands. No prior notification.
The following was put to the Council via the office of the new chief executive by email at the end of last week as a basis for discussion/settlement by a local allotments group.
'The highest allotment rent in Scotland apart from Aberdeen is Edinburgh. It is accepted that the set up in Edinburgh is excellent with far and away the best facilities and an ongoing programme of capital improvements. Edinburgh is held out as "Best Practice" for other local authorities to follow.
The rent for a full plot in Edinburgh is £48 which includes a subscription to Fedaga of almost £3. so the allotment element is charged at £45. This includes water
Why does the council not offer to ask us to pay £45 for a full plot and £22.50 for a half. Retain the nominal water charge but charge half the rate for a half plot. To be effective for 2008/9 onwards. Increase sought for 2009/10 to be abandoned. Renegotiate for 2010/2011 if improvement programme has progressed at which time remove separate water charge.
That way we are no longer alone in paying highest in Scotland nor are part plot holders paying over the odds. Council gets more rent.
We would be still be looking for a scheduled programme of improvements to bring our allotments up to standard. The sale of allotments at Seafield of which I'm sure you are aware should have created an Allotments Capital Fund which should be able to be accessed to fund the improvement programme.
I have suggested to Councillor Kevin Stewart that the administration of allotments should be taken out of the three neighbourhood system and decanted into a single one of them. That alone should create savings by eliminating multiple layers of management and labour. I have also suggested a critical look at the expenditure element of the Allotments revenue budget which should surely be able to yield something.
Can you establish if your Council finds any of the aforementioned acceptable as a basis for discussion if not for settlement?'
Allotment holders feel the proposal is reasonable. We will still be paying the highest rents in Scotland but not singularly and we will still have the poorest facilities.
The Proposals to increase once again are poorly founded in our view. The last increases may have fatally wounded the golden goose by causing allotment holders to give up in large numbers. Any further increases will finish the job.
Allotment holders have now come to the conclusion that the rent increases are being used as a device to reduce demand to such an extent that surplus capacity will enable sales of prime land close to the city centre.
The information is detailed in the council’s own documentation
Late in 2006, the Council published a consultation document titled ‘proposed allotments action plan’ as a prelude to the preparation of an allotments strategy.
On page 1 of that document under the heading Aims it shows one of the aims and I quote
'To generate capital resources for the overall improvement of services across the City in line with the Council's capital Strategy.
On page 2 of the document under the heading THE WAY FORWARD it states and again I quote
'It is proposed that 25% of the net proceeds from the sale of allotments be available for reinvestment into the service. The remaining 75% will be available for corporate users, e.g. to enhance the capital spending on other city council priorities.'
Crucially the final strategy document published in October 2008 contains proposals for disposal of sale proceeds from allotments. 50% each way instead of 25%/75% split above.
(Council cannot arbitrarlily decide to do that. Must adhere to treatment as per allotments legislation.)
There is a clear and positive indication that sales are on the horizon. The Allotments strategy doesn't preclude sales. It commits to maintaining same number of allotments. So maybe sell in City Centre and develop new plots on outskirts. Prices huge in city centre, cheaper on outskirts. Pocket difference. Is council plotting to once again raid the allotments pot?
Also,
Councillors will be painfully aware of the Audit Scotland report re sales by Aberdeen Council which was published earlier this year? One of the conclusions was that the sale of the Seafield Club and adjoining allotment site was sold for £685k when it was worth more than £2.9 million.
Everyone seems to have missed the point that the £2.2 million pounds lost wasn't simply a loss to Aberdeen City, it was specifically a loss to the City allotments capital fund. (sale proceeds from allotments have to be dealt with according to allotments legislation. Cannot just be appropriated to General Capital Fund) Had that money not been lost through the incompetence of the Council and it's officials at the time, sufficient funds would have been available to upgrade facilities and services on City allotments to the same standards of other Scottish cities. Judy Wilkinson of Sags(Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society )confirmed on air on Frank Gilfeathers live talk in show on Northsound 2 on Sunday that Aberdeen has the poorest allotment facilities in Scotland and the highest rents.(That's before the present proposals are even considered). The annual income from the capital balance remaining after paying for improvements would probably have covered the rest of the Allotments revenue expenditure budget for future years. The rent increases imposed and proposed would not have been necessary.
I am prepared to talk to Councillors on this subject so that they may familiarise themselves with the issues or indeed to answer any questions from the allotment holders perspective.
17th December is not far away. Time is of the essence.
Finally may I remind everyone that The Council is bound to provide allotments and is bound to administer them in accordance with the Allotments legislation. Page 172 referred to above does not make that clear.
Frank Taylor
Acting Secretary
Bucksburn Allotments Association'
Add your content here