These recent or impending changes to Council practice and regulations relating to allotments were indicated in papers presented for discussion at recent Allotment Representatives Network Meetings and may be of interest to many plotters.
Paper 1: Bee-keeping
“It has been brought to our Services attention that there may be unauthorised beekeeping activities at our allotment sites.
We require any persons who may be undertaking beekeeping without permission to contact our Service so we can consider the suitability of the plot and advise the process required for Beekeepers to meet our requirements to allow them to keep bees.
Our Service do allow a limited number of beekeeping plots at our allotment sites but there is a risk assessment policy in place to identify if an allotment is suitable.
Additionally there are requirements for a potential beekeeper to have a certain level of experience before permission will be granted and the beekeeper must have suitable Public Liability Insurance which can be obtained from the Scottish Beekeepers Association.Beekeeping on our Allotment sites without the necessary permission may result in termination of the tenant’s Allotment Lease.”
Paper 2: Community Empowerment Act 2015 – Part 9 (Allotments)
“Following delays and a series of consultations, the above has now been enacted and our Service requires to make changes to the way we operate our Allotment Service to comply with the Act. A brief summary of some of the main changes required are:
(a) An applicant has the right to specify the size of plot they require. If our Service offers an alternative size, the applicant has the option to accept the offer or reject it and retain their same position on the Waiting List.
(b) Applicants can apply for Joint Leases.
(c) Termination of Lease: our Service will require to give 1 month’s Notice of our “Intention to Terminate a Lease ” for example, following an Audit Failure, during which time the Tenant can make an appeal to our Service and if rejected can lodge an appeal with the Sherriff Officer. If and when both appeals are rejected, we can then issue a Termination Notice, giving the Tenant, 1 month’s Notice to vacate the allotment.
(d) Allotment Regulations: We have a duty to prepare allotment site Regulations and these proposed regulations will be published to allow all stakeholders to make representations on the detail. Much of the detail will be similar to the requirements detailed in our “Managing Your Allotment” document. These Regulations require to be implemented before 1 April 2020 but we anticipate they will be available for publication/consultation in the next few months but will keep you advised.”
