Growing Hawick

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...

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...