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OUR SITE RULES |
But detailed below are some of the most important ones: GENERAL 1.1 The Tenant must inform the committee in writing of any change of address, e-mail address or telephone number or if their circumstances change, for example they become unwell and unable to maintain their plot. 1.2 Tenants must use allotments for their own personal use and must not carry out any business or sell produce, grown on the allotment, grown on the allotment. 1.3 Tenants found taking produce, plants, plant material or other items from another tenants plot without permission from the tenant of the plot concerned will automatically have their tenancy agreement terminated. 1.4 Tenants with children on the allotment should ensure they are properly supervised at all times while on the allotment site. Tenants must ensure they don’t cause any undue annoyance or disturbance to other tenants or residents of houses adjoining. 1.5 The Southend Council and committee are not liable for any loss, including by accident, fire, theft, flooding or damage of any tools or contents of shed, greenhouse and polytunnel. Any theft should be reported to the police and a crime number obtained. 1.6 The speed limit on the Allotment site roadway is 5 mile per hour.
1.7 An existing Tenants status does not give an automatic right to take over a vacant plot when a Tenant resigns. The Site Manager will reallocate a vacant plot from the applicants he has on record. RENT 2.1 The rent is payable in advance on 1st April in any year and is subject to annual review. SUBLETTING/ASSIGNMENT 3.1 The Tenant shall not sublet, assign or part with possession of any part of the plot without the prior written consent of the Site Manager and Southend Council. USE AND CONDUCT 4.1 The Tenant must not cause, permit or suffer any nuisance or annoyance to other plot holders or neighbouring residents of the allotment site and must conduct themselves properly at all times. Tenants are reminded that noise from radios etc. can cause a nuisance or annoyance to other plot holders. 4.2 The Tenant must not cause any inappropriate, offensive or unlawful conduct or any activities likely to bring the Gaynes Park (Manners Way) and Gardens Association name into disrepute, in this regard. Any of these activities which is brought to the attention of the committee in writing, may lead to the membership being withdrawn and termination of their tenancy. Anyone whose membership and/or tenancy have been withdrawn as a result of inappropriate behaviour will be barred from future membership and therefore tenancy at the discretion of the committee. The decision of the committee on the above matters will be final. 4.3 Any disputes between Tenants should be resolved locally where possible. As a last resort disputes should be submitted in writing to the allotment committee for consultation and investigation. The decision of the committee will be binding on all the tenants involved in the dispute. 4.4 Anti Discriminatory Policy: in accordance with The Equality Act 2010, discriminatory comments or actions against any person on the allotment site will not be tolerated and could result in loss of tenancy. The Equality Act 2010 requires equal treatment for people regardless of their age, disability, marriage and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race (this includes ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality), religion or belief (this includes lack of belief), sex or sexual orientation and gender reassignment.
4.5 The Tenant shall not enter any other plot without the express permission of the relevant plot holder.
4.6 Nothing should be removed from any Vacant Plot without prior permission of the Site Manager.
CULTIVATION 5.1 The Tenant shall maintain the plot in a good state of cultivation. 5.2 Failure to keep the plot in good order may result in the termination of the tenancy. 5.3 The maximum amount of the allotment plot allowed to be covered by sheds, hard standings, internal paths etc. is 20%. The Tenant shall maintain at least 75% of the allotment plot designated for the production of vegetables, fruits and flower crops for the consumption by the tenant and his/her family. The plot shall be kept free of hazards, e.g. scrap metal, broken glass and ensure it remains in a good state for cultivation and in good condition. 5.4 The plot holding member shall have at least 1/4 of the Allotment under cultivation of crops after 3 months and at least 3/4 of the Allotment under cultivation of crops after 12 months and thereafter.
5.5 (15.1b) Tenants that are unable to maintain their plots to a satisfactory standard of tidiness and cultivation will receive a formal notice to that effect. Should a tenant receive 2 formal notices in the year or who fails to act upon a formal notice will have their tenancy terminated by the committee. The committee may set aside a decision to terminate a tenancy if there are extenuating circumstances. 5.6 The Tenant must not remove any produce from any other plot or otherwise interfere with the plot without the express permission of the relevant plot holder. Should the unauthorised removal of produce be identified the withdrawal of tenancy may be recognised as a result of inappropriate behaviour. (See 1.3) The decision of the committee on the above matters will be final. 5.7 The Tenant must notify the Council or committee as soon as practicable of anything which might temporarily prevent cultivation of the plot. 5.8 Except where trees are listed the plot holder shall cut, prune and maintain all trees to a manageable size to the satisfaction of the committee. Maximum height of all trees is 2 metre.
BOUNDARIES 6.1 The Tenant shall maintain all boundaries in a good state leaving them clear of all rubbish. 6.2 The Tenant shall not obstruct or encroach on any path on the allotment site. 6.3 The Tenant to ensure the area adjacent to hedges is kept clear to allow Southend Council access to cut all the hedges around the site. Compost bins or other obstructions must not be placed against or near the hedge. Should any obstruction prevent the Southend Council from access, action will be taken by the council and or the committee to remove the obstructions. The cost will be passed onto the individual plot holders concerned. 6.4 Any Tenants that have removed or reduced the width of the paths between plots should be reinstated. All paths MUST be at least 24inches wide and kept in a good condition. Please ensure these paths are put back to this minimum width. The Site Manager with another committee member will carry out regular site inspections to assess to the plot against the Allotment Terms and Conditions. If any tenant is found to be in breach of the terms and conditions the termination procedure will be activated.
GREEN WASTE, BONFIRES AND RUBBISH 7.1 The Tenant shall endeavour to compost all green waste on the plot. Composting shall be in properly constructed self-built or ready made containers which are well sited on the plot. (If not take it home and place in your own green bin.) 7.2 Refuse which is unsuitable for compost should be removed from the allotment and disposed of by the tenant. (Do not dump it anywhere else on the site). 7.3 The plot must be kept free of rubbish, sheet plastic, old carpets, plastic bags, plant pots and other such items which are no longer being used. 7.4 Bonfires are not permitted on the allotment site except with the prior consent of the Site Manager. The tenant shall only have bonfires on the closest days leading up to November 5th after 16.00 (4:00pm) 7.5 (Tenants) Plot holders must ensure the bonfire is fully extinguished before leaving the site. INFRASTRUCTURE 8.1 Sheds, greenhouses and polytunnels can only be erected after permission has been given by the Southend Council or Site Manager where appropriate. If permission is granted they must be kept to a maximum size of 6ft x 5ft (1.829m x 1.524m) for sheds, for greenhouse 8ft x 6ft (2.438 x 1.829m) and 12ft x 10ft (3.658 x 3.048m) for polytunnels, and must not overshadow neighbouring plots. The allocation of One shed per 5rod plot. 8.2 If the Tenant has a shed or greenhouse, a system of guttering would be advisable to collect rainwater in one or more water butts off the roof.
ANIMALS AND LIVESTOCK 9..1 The Tenant must not bring any dog onto the allotment site, with the exception of ‘disability assistance’ dogs i.e. guide dogs. Assistance dogs are trained to support disabled people and people with medical conditions in a variety of ways. Assistance dogs that have been trained by a member of ADUK. Assistance dogs perform practical assistive tasks for their disabled partners or alert to life-threatening medical conditions to enable their owners to be independent. Plot holders with assistance dogs on the allotment should ensure they are properly supervised at all times and maintained on a lead on their plot while on the allotment site. Plot holders must ensure they don’t cause any undue annoyance or disturbance to other tenants or residents of houses adjoining. As a duty of care can plot holders advise the Allotment Site Manager of their assistance dog so this information can be kept alongside our allotment records. Plot holders must not assume. when they see a dog on site that it is carte blanche to bring their dog 9.2 Beehives are only allowed on site if permission has been expressly granted by the Council or Site Manager. If permission is granted, bee keepers will be required to be members of a beekeepers society and insured. SECURITY and SAFETY 10.1 Tenants are responsible for locking the site gate on arrival and departure locking the gate behind once in at all times. This is an extra security for the protection of Tenants, stops vandalism and prevention of unauthorised entry. 10.2 The Association has at its cost installed coded locks on all gates please scramble the numbers on the locks on both arrival and departure don’t leave the code visible to unwanted visitors. 10.3 On any given day if the Tenant is the last person to leave the site, the Tenant must ensure that All gates are locked and secure not just the gate they are leaving by. 10.4 Tenants are responsible for ensuring that there are no hazards present on the plot. TERMINATION OF TENANCY 15.1 The Tenancy shall end under the following circumstances: (a) In the event of the death of the tenant, one month after the date of death. (b) After failure to bring the plot up to a reasonable standard of cultivation following the issuing of a Malcultivation notice. 15.2 The Tenant shall receive a 1st Written Warning – This warning will give the tenant 4 weeks from the date of the letter/email to return the plot to an acceptable condition. An acceptable condition is defined as being in full compliance with the Allotment Terms and Conditions. If the tenant gives due cause for another 2nd Written Warning – This warning will be issued if the requirements of the first warning letter have not been complied with. The tenant will have 2 weeks from the date of the letter to return the plot to an acceptable condition. An acceptable condition is defined as being in full compliance with the Allotment Terms and Conditions. Should the plot be suitable for subdivision the tenant will be offered the opportunity to subdivide the plot and bring the rest up to standard. Termination Notice – A Termination of Tenancy Notice will be issued if the conditions set out in the second warning letter have not been complied with. The termination is effective four weeks from the date of the Notice. Any Termination Notice will be signed by the Chairperson and Site Manager who have full discretion in dealing with terminations. Under ‘Termination of Tenancy’, 15.2 refers to a possible option to subdivide a plot if suitable. Should this arise, would this be made available to existing members only or would this be extended to those on the vacancy list? 15.3 The Tenant must leave the plot tidy and free from excessive weeds and general waste and remove his own property. If the Tenant fails to do so the Southend Council will clear the plot and reclaim the cost from the tenant. WATER 16.1 The water on all allotments sites is turned off from November to end of March every year in order to prevent water pipes bursting during freezing weather. This is subject to weather conditions. 16.2 The water on all allotments sites have a number of static water tanks and outside taps with hose union connections. The Tenant must not leave the hose pipe connected to taps when completed watering of allotment plot to ensure prevention of backflow to water supplies and contamination of water supply. 16.3 The Tenant to store hosepipe away from water tanks and suspended from the ground with hose nozzle and tap connector to prevent any contamination with soil. 16.4 The Tenant shall only use a hand held hose when actively watering the plot, to ensure that water is not wasted. Hose pipes should not be used during a hose pipe ban. The use of sprinklers systems is not permitted. Hose pipes must not be left on and unattended. 16.5 The Tenant shall have consideration at all times for other plot holders extracting water from water points. Water tanks to be emptied and cleaned of silt once a year during water shut off. This to be the responsibility of all plot holders using the water tanks and not just the plot holder where the water tank is situated. SOCIETIES 17.1 All problems and queries should be passed to members of the committee or Site Manager in writing. |