Allotments guidance for local authorities: consultation

1. Section 110 – Offer to lease allotment

Legislative background

1.1 Section 107 of the Act sets out the definition of an allotment for the purposes of the Act as land that is owned or leased by a local authority and used wholly or mainly for the cultivation of vegetables, fruit, herbs or flowers, and not for profit.

1.2 Section 109 makes provision relating to requests to a local authority for an allotment. If a person wants an allotment that is smaller than 250 square metres, that person must specify the desired size in the request under section 109.

1.3 In section 110 a "specified area" is an allotment size of less than 250 square metres requested by a person. If the local authority offers to grant a lease of an allotment of the specified area ( e.g. half plot) to the person, the request is treated as having been agreed to and the person will be removed from the waiting list.

1.4 If the local authority offers to grant a lease of an allotment but not of the specified area ( e.g. lease offered is quarter plot or standard plot, specified area is half plot), the request is treated as not having been agreed to and the person will remain on the waiting list, unless the person accepts the offer to grant the lease ( e.g. quarter plot or standard plot), in which case the request will be treated as having been agreed to and the person will be removed from the waiting list. If the offer to grant a lease is declined, the person will remain on the waiting list in the same position on the list as if the offer had not been made by the local authority.

Section guidance

1.5 Section 110 provides an entitlement for a person to wait for an allotment of approximately 250 square metres, or a smaller size if this is specifically requested. The standard allotment size is approximately 250 square meters (plus or minus 5% is considered to be approximately 250 square metres).

1.6 There is no requirement within section 110 for a local authority to assist tenants to move to larger or smaller allotments, should the tenant determine that they are not located on an allotment of optimum size for their needs.

1.7 Should the tenant wish to move to a smaller allotment, they may wish to discuss their requirements with their local authority allotments officer who will provide advice as appropriate in the circumstances.

1.8 Should the tenant at a later date wish to have a larger sized or full size allotment, they may be required to submit a new application to the local authority and join the waiting list. Local authorities may therefore wish to separately categorise such applications for a larger allotment (using section 111(2)).

1.9 When a lease is offered for an allotment, the potential tenant should be made aware whether the land is leased rather than owned by the local authority, as different procedural requirements apply in relation to termination (see sections 128 and 129 of the Act).

1.10 It would also be good practice for a local authority to make the potential tenant aware of whether the site management has been delegated on the site for which they are to be offered a lease of an allotment. (section 123 of the Act).

Question 1 Is section 110 of the statutory guidance clear and understandable, to allow the local authority to deliver its statutory obligations under Part 9?

Yes
No

If no, i.e. you consider that the guidance is not clear and understandable, please tell us why you think this, and how it needs to be improved. Please include the relevant paragraph numbers in your response.

Question 1 comments:

Question 2 Are there any gaps or omissions in section 110 of the statutory guidance?

Yes
No

If yes, i.e. you consider that there are gaps or omissions, please tell us what you think is missing. If appropriate, please include the relevant paragraph numbers in your response.

Question 2 comments: