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You may remember, back on the 16th of July post, me mentioning that we'd received a letter from the council advising us that they were reviewing allotment provision in Leeds. They had proposed three different options, basically wanting to increase the rent. The proposals they had made would mean that our rent would be rising from £37 each year for a full plot to over £100. Meetings were held and we've now been advised of the actual figures. There is a requirement to give us twelve months notice so the rent this year will rise by the marginal increase that we were notified of last year, however, next year, it will rise to £58, the year after £65 and the year after that £72. This is for a full sized plot of 250 square metres, smaller plots, such as mine, will be charged pro rata. This isn't as bad as I'd expected and I think it still represents good value for money. There's no water on our site, but there's a charge of £6 per year for plots on sites with water, and there's a £3 charge for allotment association membership.
I have a couple of moth orchids which are always in flower over Christmas. This year, the flowers have lasted and lasted and it isn't long ago that they finally faded and I cut down the flower spikes. There's no sign of another spike starting to grow yet on either plant so I think this will be the first year that I'm without my orchids over the festive period. Even if they start to grow now, I doubt there'll be time for the orchids to produce buds and then for the buds to open in time for Christmas. Never mind, something to look forward to next year.
We haven't had another frost since the start of the week, though it's still very cold. The sun is shining today, it's a beautiful, bright day, but there's still a nip in the air. I'm already willing spring to come and we haven't had winter yet.
Don't forget, if you haven't yet entered my giveaway, you've got until twelve noon on Sunday the 10th of November 2013 to do so. Just leave a comment on
The Allotment Planner post.
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That doesn't seem too bad Jo, and better than you feared! A 250 meter plot seems enormous to me with my four little veg beds in the garden. I've not entered your giveaway as I'm not sure that I would use it so it seemed fairer to let someone else have a go. It is a lovely giveaway though. xx
ReplyDeleteIt's quite good compared to what they wanted to increase it to. My plot isn't full size, I think it's about two thirds but plenty big enough for us.
DeleteIt may not be a huge amount of money, but it is certainly one heck of a percentage rise in one go.
ReplyDeleteIt could have been worse so I'm thankful for this. My rent will be slightly lower as my plot is smaller than full size.
DeleteI'm always amazed by how long moth orchids keep flowering! I know councils are really starting to feel spending cuts this year, but the rent rise is still quite a hike.
ReplyDeleteI think my orchids outdid themselves this year, they just went on and on. The rent rise isn't half what they wanted to increase it to so I'm thankful for small mercies.
DeleteI still have one orchid that refuses to flower but the other one is still flowering although some individual flowers have dropped off.
ReplyDeleteOur rents are and we pay £20 per plot for water with rental on top of that.
It's weird how one orchid is refusing to flower, I don't know what to suggest. Your water is so much more expensive than here in Leeds. It's amazing by how much allotment rents vary throughout the country.
DeleteI wonder what the justification is for the rent rises. Allotments were never meant to be about raising money. They are a service councils are obliged to offer if there is a demand. I hope that money goes back into the maintenance and upkeep of the allotments. Would be interesting to see how much Leeds Council make from all of the allotments and how much they cost to run. I would be prepared to pay those prices but I don't know anyone else on our site who would. I would be the last one plotting.
ReplyDeleteThe council, apparently, subsidise allotment provision by £130k per year, and the rent rise is to remove the need for this subsidy. I don't think the increased prices are unreasonable actually, there's lots of other areas in the country where allotment rent is more expensive. I'm just glad that the rent wasn't increased to what we were, at first, expecting.
DeleteI think that I paid around £25 this year, which includes water. That's for a half plot, and is a concessionary rate as I'm retired. Even a couple of pounds a week for a full plot is surely good value even though many people think that's expensive.
ReplyDeleteThere's been no more frosts here but it has been chilly and wet, although it's bright today. Flighty xx
I think so too. You've got to put it in to context, you couldn't buy a take away coffee each week for a year for that price. There used to be a 50% concession for senior citizens, they were going to do away with the concession altogether but it's now at 20%. It sounds like we've had similar weather this week.
DeleteOh at least your council are rising the rent gradually. Ours leapt from £32 to £80 last year - originally the proposed charges were going to be £120. We do have access to unlimited water but that may be capped in the future. It was a big rise but still to my mind represents a fair charge if you cost it per week. It did mean that some plot holders packed in whilst others with multiple plots have given up some of them. I think that the latter is a good development as we have had a few people with more than 2 plots and there is a big waiting list in the borough. Perhaps some nice person might buy you a moth orchid in flower for Christmas :)
ReplyDeleteThey proposed roughly the same as yours, I was expecting a bill of over £100 so this doesn't seem too bad. Creeping up gradually eases us in to paying the higher amount, I think your council have been a bit unfair to do it in one big jump. I agree with what you say, you have to cost it out per week, and let's be honest, there aren't many hobbies which are so reasonably priced these days. I expect that some of our plots will become vacant because of the increase too. One of my orchids was a Christmas present and was in flower at the time.
DeleteWow, I am dumbstruck. My full sized allotment costs just £19.50 this year (and that has gone up by 50p from last year). We have water and a skips arrives every so often. I can't believe how much you are paying xxx
ReplyDeleteMake the most of it is all I can say, it seems that many councils are looking for ways to increase allotment rents at the moment. Prices vary so much around the country, I know that my allotment isn't one of the most expensive.
DeleteJo
ReplyDeleteSue meant to say that our plots are £52.50 plus £20.92 for water making a total of £73.42. Don't suppose it can be considered expensive as some people obviously pay their rent and can't be bothered to make much use of their plot!
I think the water is expensive, but I'm mentioning it quietly in case Leeds City Council hear what you pay. It's true that people pay up for their plots and then don't utilise them, it's such a shame. I'm not complaining about the price of my plot, and I'm grateful that they're increasing the price in increments.
DeleteI'm glad they haven't increased the rent all the way up to over £100. I think provision of water to sites is quite expensive. We have mains water, but luckily my rent is only £20 at the moment. We're owned by the Town Trust, rather than the local authority, and I think this makes a big difference. I do hope they don't suddenly decide to make a huge increase.
ReplyDeleteThe rise isn't as bad as we feared so we're quite happy about that. We don't pay for water as we don't have any on our site, but I don't think that £6 is a bad price to pay for it, I'd willingly pay that if we had it on tap.
DeleteHere, there is no allotment for the gardener. Only farmer that rent land for commercial use.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have new orchid that ready to bloom for Christmas this year
It's a shame that allotments aren't available in all places, it's a great solution for those people who don't have a big enough garden to grow their own food. I don't think either of my orchids will flower in time for Christmas now but it will give me something to look forward to next year.
DeleteI am fascinated by your allotment information. There is nothing like this in the USA. Although you have to pay a rising fee, it's a wonderful opportunity for gardeners with little space at home to grow produce, as you say. My grandad had an allotment when I was a kid, and I'm sure I would want one in those circumstances. P. x
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that allotments aren't available throughout the world, it's a great scheme being able to rent a patch of land. My grandpa had an allotment too, I think it must be in my blood.
DeleteI have left my 'give-away' comment so I'm happy I didn't miss out!! I guess we expect rents to rise with inflation and I think we are still getting good deals. Not sure what ours are going to be this year but then again I don't really know how big the plots are either. I should really find out so a proper comparison can be made across the U.K., I think it would be interesting to see!!
ReplyDeleteYou were just in time for the giveaway. Allotments are usually measured in rods (though I've no idea what a rod measures), and a full size allotment plot is ten rods, which works out at 250 square metres. I think most sites work on these measurements.
DeleteI'm pleased to hear that the increase is manageable, the £72 increase is a little more startling though! Shame about your orchids.....xxxx
ReplyDeleteThe increase is better than we were expecting, and it still gives value for money, so we're happy enough with that. The orchids will flower again next year, so something to look forward to. Just a shame I'll be without them over Christmas though.
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