Management Policies

Management Policies

1. Lease and Management Committee

We obtained a comprehensive lease from April 1992 from Dartford Borough Council, which was re-negotiated in 2013; it gives us full rights as the landlord for plot-holders on the site. The only information supplied to the Borough Council is the total rental income each year, the amount of which paid to the Council in accordance with the lease. This gives us the power we need to implement improved management policies, and to act swiftly and positively in response to opportunities when they appear. Plot-holders are protected against abuse of that power (a) by the terms of the lease and rental agreements and (b) by the fact that the trustees are drawn from members of the Association's committee, half of whom have to stand for re-election each year. To prevent that re-election becoming automatic we require each candidate to be elected separately unless agreed by the body of the AGM. The lease is subject to review every seven years, and when it was renewed in 2013 the Trustees were confirmed in office. Two of these Trustees subsequently resigned and were formally replaced by two tenants and committee members. We have tightened up the rental agreements slightly - by banning bonfires during the summer months (for the sake of asthmatics), prohibiting dumping anywhere on the site, restricting herbicide use near paths, and establishing priorities for users of the water supply system. Waste produced on site is managed through the encouragement of composting, bonfires in season, and when approved, a skip service for non-compostable and non-combustible waste. The public areas of the site are regularly mowed, and all rubbish is removed immediately before there is any chance of it encouraging further accumulation.

Formerly it was a requirement that nobody should allowed to serve in any combination of the posts of Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer or Trustee for more than ten years; this requirement was rescinded by a majority vote at the 2017 AGM.

2. Site Promotion and Communications

Rarely has the association had to advertise that the site had vacancies, although it is listed on Dartford Borough Council's Website etc. - word of mouth has usually been sufficient. No concessions has been made on rents; the Association keeps them as low as possible commensurate with the outgoing expenses of the site, only raising the rents when absolutely essential. We have, however, reduced plot sizes to around 5 rods from the original 10 rods, to give newcomers a better chance, and to accommodate people who are just too busy to keep a full 10 rod plot under control. All new tenants are given a leaflet on composting.

The water supply system has been upgraded since taking over the site. The Association has, provided plastic drums (donated by a local company) as water butts and facilitated the supply of unlimited numbers of pallets for building compost bins, sheds, frames and raised beds, again through contacts in industry , and free of charge.

The Association has erected a number of Notice-boards around the site to provide information to the plot-holders and it has its own Website which is regularly updated.

3. Helping Plot-holders in Difficulty

The site has generally been fully tenanted since January 1993 and it is therefore imperative, that there is a procedure for freeing up plots that are not being cultivated and to do so as quickly as possible, whilst dealing fairly with the the Association's members. The state of cultivation of each plot is regularly reviewed, and plot-holders who have not achieved a reasonable state of cultivation are contacted as soon as possible to determine what the problem is (if this is not already known), and to offer remedial actions.

(i) To terminate the tenancy voluntarily, or, where possible, accept the tenancy of half the current area. This creates a new tenancy, and thus affords the tenant special protection under the Allotment Acts for the first year of the new tenancy (3 months to get one quarter cultivated, etc). This would free up land for a new tenant.

(ii) To terminate the tenancy voluntarily (at once, or on a pre-arranged date), and ask to be placed on the priority reapplication list, a list of former tenants who have given up their tenancies voluntarily and who thus remain in good standing with the Association. Anyone on this list may apply for a new plot at a later date, and will go to the top of the waiting list.

(iii) To bring the plot to a required and specified standard of cultivation within one month (or a longer period when special circumstances such as illness, require it), with the warning that failure to achieve this standard will result in notice to quit. This option constitutes a "non-cultivation notice", and when such notices are sent out, reference to the the Association's code of practice must be made, which explains how an appeal should be made if the plot-holder thinks that they have been treated unfairly (included is a provision for an outside adjudicator, who is the secretary of another site). The specified standard of cultivation may range from fully dug and planted to simply being strimmed and/or covered with carpet, depending on the circumstances of the tenant and also the number of times there have been problems before.

(iv) To do nothing, and face 30 days notice to quit immediately the non-cultivation notice expires, the notice period provided for in the rental agreement. Notices to quit are always issued as soon as the other options have been exhausted, either through the action or inaction of the tenant. This means that in a few cases cases the plot(s) are available for re-letting as little as two months after the problem has been identified.

Sometimes plot-holders run into financial difficulties, in which case the Association may help out by taking quarterly payments. Should the rent become overdue a warning in writing is given to the effect that if the rent is not paid in full within fourteen days a notice to quit will be issued. Once a notice to quit has been issued it is not revoked.

4. Community-Building

Allotment gardening is a leisure pursuit and tenants have a right to enjoy their plots in peace. There is an award for the best newcomer and the best 'Overall' plot on Site which is judged by some of the Association's committee members and presented at the Association's AGM.