8:10am Monday 6th September 2010
ALLOTMENT holders want Swindon Council to take tougher action on dozens of residents who neglect their plots and force others on to a long waiting list.
They claim that some people have not tended their plots for two or three years, while those wanting a space to grow fruit and vegetables can spend a similar time waiting for one to become available.
Now the Swindon Allotment and Leisure Garden Association, which represents allotment holders in Swindon, wants the authority to inspect the sites and re-let all neglected plots.
Treasurer Don Reeve said: “The council is slap happy about following up on the maintenance of sites.
“They need to have regular inspections and follow up on the plots that are obviously neglected.
“Some of them are obviously not being looked after and we think that is a waste of a nice piece of land, especially when there are people on a waiting list.
“An allotment holder who has grown disinterested or too old isn’t necessarily going to take the initiative to hand the plot back.
“It is incumbent on the council to take the initiative and say ‘do you want it or don’t you want it?’”
Swindon Council has more than 1,200 plots of varying sizes on 26 sites across the town.
The authority claims the average waiting time is one to two years.
Allotment holders claim there is at least one neglected plot on each of the sites.
They say this not only deprives those on the waiting list, but also looks untidy and spreads weeds.
Mr Reeve said: “It seems to us that, providing the person pays their rent, the plots can stand empty for two to three years.
“I think that, if the plot holders didn’t pay their rent promptly, they would have to close up and give it to someone else.”
Terry Reynolds, the site rep for the Gorse Hill Allotments, in Upper Stratton, said: “The council tells me that every plot on the site is let and people are working it.
“But I can show you six to seven plots that haven’t been touched in six months and two which haven’t been touched for two years.
“And when I send a letter about it to the council, all I get is ‘they’re let.’”
Keith Williams, Swindon Council’s cabinet member for streetscene, said: “Possibly we need to be a little bit sharper on this but with the vast number of sites we have got it isn’t that easy.
“We need the help of allotment holders. If you think there is a vacant plot adjacent to yours then bring it to our attention and we will follow it up.
“But the difficulty is tracking the holders down and getting them to say we don’t want that site any more.”
He said Swindon Council was looking for more suitable space for allotments across Swindon, including West Swindon, to help meet demand.
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