Saturday, 18 January 2014

Wow! - Hope This Doesn't Catch On.

Another couple of decent days for the middle of January with around average temperatures. Friday was fairly sunny and it finished up as being only our second day of the month without any measurable rainfall.

As you might know our allotments are in Wakefield (provided by Wakefield District Council) and rather worryingly I happened to come across this page on the Internet offering allotments for rent in Wakefield.


If Wakefield District Housing are charging £167.96 a year for a plot how long will it be before the Council decides to start charging similar prices? It doesn't say how large the plots are but for that outlay on plot 18 you've got to clear the plot first. For that price it ought to come ready dug, planted and with a nice new shed. 

Who knows perhaps they won’t get any takers at that price. I can see why it’s a rare opportunity!

If you read Sue’s blog you’ll know that we spotted a female blackcap in the garden for the first time on Thursday afternoon. It’s more than likely that she’s a migrant and on her way to some other final destination but we wondered if she might stick around in the garden for another day and we weren't disappointed. 

I also managed to get a little bit of video before the light faded too much.

It would be nice if she could attract a male blackcap into the garden before she heads off for her next destination.

Copyright: Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Posted by Martyn at 09:30

8 comments:

  1. Mark Willis18 January 2014 at 11:20

    What does "occupancy licences are on a rolling basis" mean? Does it mean that they can terminate the licence whenever they feel like it?

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    Replies
    1. Martyn18 January 2014 at 11:34

      My guess is the same as yours Mark. Sounds a bit like the contracts football managers get "a rolling one year contract". Wouldn't give me any confidence to plant any long term fruit on the plot and to get back £160/yr it needs some fruit.

      Delete
  2. CJ18 January 2014 at 21:16

    Scarily expensive, I do hope overcharging doesn't catch on. The photos and video footage are lovely, how nice that she is still in and around your garden.

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    Replies
    1. Martyn19 January 2014 at 10:18

      We didn't see her all day Saturday but perhaps we helped her feed up to continue on her journey.

      Delete
  3. Martin S18 January 2014 at 22:16

    This does seem to be a worrying idea. Hope your council doesn't follow their lead.

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    1. Martyn19 January 2014 at 10:20

      So am I although I can see it's an easy way for them to raise some extra money without a big media backlash.

      Delete
  4. Mal19 January 2014 at 18:08

    Trying to grasp this. Who owns the land? Is the Council currently meeting it's obligation to to provide plots when 6 or more apply to them for allotments? ie is there a waiting list?

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    1. Martyn19 January 2014 at 19:09

      I don't fully understand what or who WDH is or how it works. Wakefield District Council don't look after any housing but have passed this responsibility on to WDH. WDH describe themselves as a not-for-profit, non-publicly funded organisation that is the largest provider of social housing in the district.

      I can only image them as managing on the councils behalf hence I think the land is in council ownership - but I could be wrong. Having had dealings with Wakefield District Council I'm not impressed by the way they work. I don't think they have any time or money for allotments and just consider them a nuisance. They certainly can't manage anything as complicated as a waiting list.

      Delete

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