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Hawick Allotments

At first glance Hawick appears to have very few spaces for growing food but look more closely and more and yet more appear, dotted all over the town. Scottish Borders Council have a statutory duty to provide allotments and fulfil that duty rather better in Hawick than they do in other parts of Scottish Borders with only Peebles having more allotments than Hawick. Allotment sites Number of allotments Estimated waiting period The Gytes, Peebles 36 Less than three years Burgh Hall, Peebles 3 Less than three years Moss Park, Peebles 6 Less than three years Miller Street, Innerleithen 6 Less than three years Guthrie Drive, Hawick 14 Less than two years Wilton Park Road, Hawick 17 Less than two years This information refers, however, only to statutory allotments which are, at least in Hawick, only the tip of the iceberg. They also do not tell the whole story since some people wait more than five years for a council allo...
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Allotment Rights and Rules 2017

Six or more council tax payers or on the electors of the local authority area may approach the council to provide allotments in their area. After consideration and if it determines there is a requirement then it must either purchase or lease sufficient land to provide allotments and let these to local residents but restricted to the provision of allotment gardens of up to five hundred square metres. Scottish Borders Council publish limited details of their allotments and how to apply for one on their website . The local authority must maintain register of allotments showing the size and location of each allotment in its area, the particulars of tenancy, the rental of let allotments and details of unlet allotments.   This register may be examined by any local ratepayer, who may take copies of it.   Scottish Borders Council are somewhat reticent to comply with this provision but are being challenged over this.  The authority should also publish annual accounts of expenditur...
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The Future of Allotments

Until section nine of the Community Empowerment Act comes into force it will not be clear what Scottish government’s intentions are for the future of allotments but it is unlikely to restrict rights of tenants or obligations placed on local authorities. It may be hoped that the new regulations will help improve and protect allotment provision. Presently the law places a duty on a local authority to provide plots but fails require particular expenditure or dictate how long may be allowed for the local authority to meet their obligations. The 1919 Land Settlement Act specified that funds should come from the Public General Health Assessment for the provision of allotments but that provision was appealed by the Public Health (Scotland) Act in 2008 . Allotments, therefore, compete for ever more scarce local authority funds with other priorities. A method of protecting and perhaps even improving allotment provision may be to demonstrate to the local authority that other statutory duties mi...
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A Potted History

No expertise in allotment law is professed and some more obscure piece of legislation may have been missed but based on the UK Statute Law Database what is contained here is believed to be reasonably accurate. The usual definition an allotment in Scottish law is a plot of land one acre or smaller provided for rental for agricultural or horticultural use.   Originally an allotment was intended as much for grazing animals as it was for growing fruit and vegetables; the idea of an allotment garden appeared later. Usually a smaller piece of land but still intended also for animal husbandry. The earliest allotment law appeared in 1892 , largely still in force but partially amended and replaced by further legislation in 1919 , 1922 and 1950 .   Other legislation does affect allotments in similar ways to other land and property particularly in respect to the duty of care owed by landlord and tenant . The legislation places a clear duty to provide allotments and provides the necessary...
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