News — St Thomas Allotments Association, Exeter

St. Thomas Allotment Holders Association (STAA) response to ECC proposal to increase Exeter allotment tenants rent in September 2024

In light of the recent decision by Exeter City Council (ECC) to propose, from September 2024, an increase in the rent fees by 41 – 77% for allotment plot holders across the city, the St Thomas Allotment Holders Association (STAA), representing over 700 plot holders across eight sites in the St. Thomas district of Exeter, makes the following observations and recommendations.

Allotments were once seen as the preserve of “old blokes in sheds” but, if that were ever the case, it certainly is not true now. Neither are they the “domain of the middle class”. The allotment community in Exeter and across the country includes people of all educational and social backgrounds, nationalities, occupations, ages, genders, sexual orientations, faiths and non-faiths. Indeed, it could be argued that it is unique in drawing together a very diverse group of people who work alongside each other to grow much of their own food, share knowledge, experiences and effort. This is something to be celebrated.

We only have to look at the proven benefits of allotments during the recent COVID pandemic; and Professor Sir Chris Whitty, in his latest report ‘Health in an Ageing Society’ says that the key to a healthy old age (and by 2050 25% of the population will be over 65) is mental stimulation, exercise, and a good social network. Moreover, that eating plenty of fruit and vegetables reduces high blood pressure and conditions such as chronic heart disease and stroke. He says that there is no need for people to suffer chronic illnesses merely because they are old. Working an allotment provides all Professor Whitty suggests and more; it gives people a real sense of purpose and satisfaction, boosting their mental health and well-being and giving them a reason to get up in the morning and to be able to provide for their family. Such aspects are difficult to assign a financial value to but if the people, who may well live on their own and on benefits or a fixed state pension, are being forced to give up their plot, their physical and mental health is likely to suffer. Their care will fall to other local authority services and is highly likely to cost more in the end.

If many people find their lives enriched by having an allotment, an increasing number of others need to grow their own food in an increasingly stringent cost of living crisis. It is precisely these people, often working people who are struggling to make ends meet, who will be priced out of having an allotment by an unfairly high rent increase. That many will see as a punitive measure.

Allotments are currently inclusive and should not be exclusive. We need to find solutions which protect and preserve a very precious asset, otherwise you will further increase the divide between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’.

The following key aspects of this process STAA draws attention to are:

Consultation.

1. it does not adhere to ECC’s own consultation process. (see ECC Consultation Charter https://exeter.gov.uk/media/6219/consultation-charter-accessible-version.pdf )

2. the consultation period Is not long enough to allow for a considered and shared response from individual tenants, some of whom have not yet have received notification by either letter or email.

3. more explicit detail needs to be provided to substantiate the rationale for this increase:

3.1 the detailed accounts of the current and proposed future income and expenditure of the allotments;

3.2 the services currently and those proposed (added value) to be offered to the plot holders;

3.3 more explicit detail of how tenants of low income can be supported to meet this rise in these financially difficult times.

4. It is important that time is allowed for a meaningful consultation with nuanced response (rather than yes/no) leading to sustainable long-term solutions. If ECC genuinely want this, they will allow the time.

Options.

1. the Leeds judgement (2014) states that local authorities should not subsidise allotments, but neither should allotments subsidise local authorities.

2. Is ECC subsidising allotments? In the Review Background ECC talks about “subsidised services” but in Option 1. ECC say that self-management “would create significant income deficits”. This implies that ECC are getting significant income from allotments. Which is it?

3. ECC isn’t pursuing greater self-management but intends to delegate more responsibilities to the sites and plot-holders such as waste removal and toilet cleaning. Over recent years the allotment sites have seen the maintenance services diminish considerably and we were informed that this year a budget of £7,000 has been allocated for the maintenance of all the sites, which all parties agree is a pitiful amount, and won’t be sufficient. The sites fully acknowledge the valuable support the water provision by ECC provides, especially in this period of climate change, but this remains the one major resource provided, which would suggest that if there is such significant financial deficit the allotments’ operational overheads must be excessively high.

Finance.

1. Having an allotment is deemed a leisure activity, is the allotment rent rise the same as other city run leisure activities or are allotment tenants being unfairly penalised? The St Sidwell’s Point leisure centre, for example, required a subsidy of nearly £1.2 million last year without including the cost of capital repayments or interest on the debt it created.

2. are there legal constraints on such an annual high increase? The Allotments Act 1950, section 10(1) says that an allotment rent is set “as a tenant may reasonably be expected to pay”, why not spread any increase over a longer period as other Councils have done?

3. the ECC review looked at 300 authorities nationally, 84 (28%) are increasing fees over the next 5 years, only 66 (22%) are increasing above inflation, which means that the 41%-77% proposed ECC increase is not reflecting national trends. Did this review take into account the services provided by those authorities?

4. the tenants need to have a proper Tenancy Agreement in order to establish what ECC will provide for the tenants in exchange for the rent.

5. Over a considerable period the St Thomas Allotment Holders Association has gone a long way to support ECC in managing the allotments, e.g. the Let & Check scheme and monitoring the sites to inform the Allotment Department of maintenance issues such as the toilets and water-leaks. This has led to considerable financial savings for the city. It may be that there are further savings to be made by tenants taking on some of the ECC obligations, with increased in-kind reciprocal support.

If through this ‘consultation process, the Council wishes the allotment plot holders to propose “alternative ideas that have not been considered” to achieve “a cost-neutral service”, it must provide sufficient information (i.e. current and future financial income and expenditure and detail of current and future services provided), to enable their tenants to offer viable, sustainable and considered proposals.

The Council also needs to give appropriate and adequate time for this consultation process to be fair, inclusive and rigorous. As this increase is proposed to be introduced in September this year, extending the consultation period to meet your own Charter would be positive and better reflect your intentions for an inclusive process.

ST. Thomas Allotment Holders Association (STAA) Committee 1st February 2024