news just on the telly

[elvis2003]

did anyone else just see the local news (im in birmingham today) it was a news item about plot holders,but i missed the first bit,i THINK it was saying that the council are trying to charge council tax for plots....surely not....anyone see the whole thing?

[elvis2003]

[betula]

I saw the news item,They are putting the rents up from about £30 to £120
Cannock I think.The council were saying it is not fair that the council tax payers have to subsidise a small amount of people. :)

[Kea]

Oh dear once one council gets the idea......the sky's the limit!

[betula]

Yes,as it stands,I have to admit I would be embarrassed about complaining about a rent that is only a couple of pounds a week.

But I bet it won't stop there,it will probally keep going up.

Traditionally ,most allotments are cheap....another tradition going overboard? :)

[Kea]

here It is

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/7741130.stm

[froglets]

Hang on, isn't that the whole point of something like a Council tax!!!!  It's collected from everybody and distributed back out again to fund a host of services!!!!

If they want to play that game then I want my council tax reduced as I don't need to contribute to schools ( no kids) or care homes ( AP's in another tax regime) or NHS dentists ( like I'm ever going to find one round here).

They can swing for the costs of their new council building and re-organising into a different county/disrtict structure & I don't want to pay for fixing pot holes on the roads I have no need to drive on.

BAH.

[Borlotti]

We could all go on a protest march carrying our spades.

[caroline7758]

What does it cost the council to run allotments, anyway? In our case, next to nothing because they provide nothing except the land.

[betula]

Ours cuts the hedges along the road side of the site.

It also pays for the water which is on a meter.

[shirlton]

We live in the West Midlands and I'm afraid that if the rent went up to £100 we would have to give up the allotment. Would turn the garden front and back over to growing food,  Concerning the council and what they do for the site. We just get the play area's mowed a couple of times a year. They could always be put back to allotments if the demand for plots continues. Then they wouldn't have to do anything for us.

[dc2]

I seem to remember a politician saying they were encouraging the green way of life .
Another promise I guess . >:(

[cornykev]

We pay for our own water and get a skip in the summer but we rarely see any council workers doing any maintenance, I guess this is another ploy to try and drag more land back so they can build more flats.  :(

[mike.jones]

I think this is disgraceful, especially in view of the current climate of encouraging as many as possible to grow their own, what with healthy eating and obesity etc. They interviewed some of the allotment holders who said they would have to give up if this went through, simply couldn't afford it. Providing allotments is a public service, just as much as providing a bin, repairing a road etc etc. We should be encouraging and lobbying our councils to provide MORE land for allotments and at a reasonable price. I am.

[dc2]

I think this is disgraceful, especially in view of the current climate of encouraging as many as possible to grow their own, what with healthy eating and obesity etc. They interviewed some of the allotment holders who said they would have to give up if this went through, simply couldn't afford it. Providing allotments is a public service, just as much as providing a bin, repairing a road etc etc. We should be encouraging and lobbying our councils to provide MORE land for allotments and at a reasonable price. I am.

Actually  providing land to grow on is not just a service its a legal obligation [if enough people ask for irt ]
guess they have found a way around that .
Agree with what else you said though and will be doing the same .

[powerspade]

On the news down here a week or so ago it was said that allotment plots alongside the railway track are going up to £250.00 per year. There are people so upset about the wanten greed that they are threatening to plant Japanese knot weed at all the sites.

[elvis2003]

kea,thanks for posting the link,its bad,but not as bad as i feared!

[kt.]

I know we are in recession but it could still be a backdoor ploy to force people off the plots so they can sell the land :(

[dc2]

I know we are in recession but it could still be a backdoor ploy to force people off the plots so they can sell the land :(

You mean like politicians taking backhanders to sell the land off to property developers
About time we put a stop to these parasites and made me priminister
How about it
my policy's are
Free plots
free beer
Not to mention the sex  :) ;D ;D

[Sparkly]

Ouch! I know our rents will be going up next year though (Trafford), but not by anything near that increase. I find this sort of thing very annoying. The council funds plenty of minority schemes. My tax goes towards plenty of things I don't need/want. In the grand scheme of things a few £ a week is still cheap, but for plenty of people that is a large amount of money. I know on our site there are plenty of pensioners who, for them, this would be a large hit. It's disgraceful. 

[Si D]

I heard the story the other day, shocking.

Have to agree with what's been said - such a rise would force me of the plot and into giving up growing all together as I don't have garden room.

But I think that for our site they'd have a job getting it through on that basis as there is a large area of 'waste' land next tot he sites that used to be allotments years ago but has been left to revert now, and another fenced, unused area just down the road that the council want to keep everyone off but can't find a use for.