Urgent Report on Allotments Jan 2022

BHCC Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee Meeting Jan 2022

On 15th July 2021 the ETS Committee of Brighton and Hove City Council, under pressure from BHAF, Councillors, plot holders and people on the waiting list, who were worried about the number of unlet and unused plots across the city as well as the slow rate of letting requested an urgent review of allotments, detailed below. Site Reps had also complained of a lack of support and communication from the allotment office. The state of the service was perceived as being a lot less than optimal.  Councillor Robert Nemeth asked the questions.

The urgent report came back to the ETS Committee on 16th November but the report was pulled as some of the answers needed ‘further clarification’.

The report has now come back to the ETS Committee and will be presented at the ETS Meeting on 18th January 2022. The report has been published already (download below)  and some questions relating to the report have been compiled by BHAF (also download below)

19.01.22 The report came back. The video of the meeting can be seen here 
with the allotments report starting at 52.10
Labour and Conservatives made amendments to the report. Attached below. 

“This Council resolves to:
1. Note concerns that have been raised by Site Representatives and Allotment
Holders with regard to
(i) the administration of the Council’s Allotment Service and
(ii) deviation away from the aims of the Brighton & Hove Allotment Strategy

2. Request the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee to call for an
officer report on options for improvement which provides the following:
(i) Breakdown by site of the different sizes of plot (i.e. full/half/third);
(ii) Breakdown by site and plot type of rent that was paid during the last
accounting period;
(iii) Breakdown by site and plot type of plots that are currently unlettable;
(iv) Breakdown by year of the number of people who have joined the allotment
waiting list and paid the £17 charge, and how the funds have subsequently
been spent;
(v) Breakdown of the resources that are allocated to the Allotment Service;
(vi) Breakdown of annual expenditure by site;
(vii) Description of the role of Allotments Officer;
(viii) Detail on which recommendations in the Allotment Strategy have been
implemented and which remaining outstanding;
(ix) Estimate by site of annual cost of water leaks;
(x) Detail on when and why regular joint liaison meetings between Allotments
Service staff, BHAF and other key stakeholders stopped; and
(xi) Total amount that has been raised by voluntary donations from plot holders.