Private Allottments
- Thread starter franklin
- Start date
Income potential is good £500 / acre/ year , but you'll never get the land back.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Been seriously considering this idea. we have a three acre bit that extends into a village that would be just the job. But how to go about it?
I reckon best way is to leave the management to a local allotment society or club.
Yes I don't think you'd ever get it back either, but if it brings others a bit of pleasure and it's far enough off the house then I wouldn't lose sleep over it.
Need some form of tenancy agreement in place to protect your interests. one for the legal eagles with clauses to prohibit other uses etc.
I reckon best way is to leave the management to a local allotment society or club.
Yes I don't think you'd ever get it back either, but if it brings others a bit of pleasure and it's far enough off the house then I wouldn't lose sleep over it.
Need some form of tenancy agreement in place to protect your interests. one for the legal eagles with clauses to prohibit other uses etc.
renewablejohn
Member
- Location
- lancs
I do landshare rather than allotments as it gets around the tenancy problem which with allotments could end up with you losing your land.
Little squeak
Member
- Location
- Lancashire
Income is more likely to be several thousand an acre per year depending on location. However you will need planning permision. neigbour close to here had big problems when he went ahead without.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Ah yes the great big brake on UK plc. Planning permission.
Chasingmytail
Member
- Location
- Newport, SE Wales
RDP LAG group (Local action group - The local authority Rural Development Plan) love this kind of development and working with them you can get the planning easier. Anything edible and environmental is a bonus and gets backing. The only downside I can see the getting the money and any clearance and setting up the area (fencing etc)
Chasingmytail
Member
- Location
- Newport, SE Wales
Any community group like this could get funding through RDP too - usually 80% and they are desperate to get the money spent. This kind of community group thing really ticks the boxes in the LAG group I am involved with in SE Wales
- Location
- West Kent
A site near here does rather well charging £380 / plot / year.
It helps that they have a large car park and are located virtually opposite a station that is 40 mins away from London.
It helps that they have a large car park and are located virtually opposite a station that is 40 mins away from London.
I have been led to believe that PP is *not* required. It would be required if any permanent structures were built. I am not an expert on planning law however it certainly was *not* required to turn agricultural land in allottments under the 1990 T&C Planning Act. Any structures that folk put up may fall foul of the rules, so should not be fixed to the ground / have concrete bases etc.
Tonym
Member
- Location
- Shropshire
When I did some barn conversions 10 years ago and took part of a field for gardens and a new access I did not need planning permission but had to apply for change of use from agricultural land to domestic curtilage.
Different name same problems.
renewablejohn
Member
- Location
- lancs
Really depends on your planning authority most of them have passed byelaws to stop allotments as it used to be an easy way of getting houses built on green belt. Fortunately for us we already had a horticulture business on the site which we converted.
renewablejohn
Member
- Location
- lancs
Downside is actually finding people capable of taking on the plots. A lot of people love the idea but are clueless about the time and effort required to sustain a productive allotment.
renewablejohn
Member
- Location
- lancs
I wish it was the same here we only charge £60 per plot and still find it difficult to fill them.
renewablejohn
Member
- Location
- lancs
What is your plot size if you dont mind me asking. Thinking of making mine smaller so that people can manage them more easily.
Tom_o_m
Member
Large! It is one of the largest on the site, at over 125 sq metres. A lot are literally half that size.
renewablejohn
Member
- Location
- lancs
Thats similar size to ours. I think I will do half sizes as many struggle with a full plot and then give up.
Best way would be to let to one person - or society - and let them deal with the admin. Expect they would be similar to horses in that people would disagree, fall out, not pay etc. You dont need that stuff, far easier to take less money and just rent a few acres to someone else as one block.
All depends on what the ground is going to be used for, if its growing veg then that is classed as ag if its grass then there is a grey area with regard to how many times a year it can be cut and if it has paths sheds etc then planners would want it changed to domestic curtilage.
From my planning battle I was told by my legal team that byelaws cant over rule primary legislation so not sure how they could stop allotments if the byelaws were challenged .
First rule of planning, never believe anything a planning officer tells you