While the material on this and the ‘resource papers‘ pages was written for the allotment societies of the London Borough of Barnet, it might also be of interest to other councils and other federations of allotment societies. It contains resources to help allotment societies successfully take on the total management of their allotment sites long term.

Most of the papers provided are reviewed and revised, where necessary, at least every three years. Where this is done the month and year of the revision is given for each paper.

The Council of the London Borough of Barnet decided to move its allotment estate, one of the largest in London, into self management so that each site is managed by an allotment society of which all the allotment plot tenants (plotholders) are members. Each society is responsible for all management functions including setting and collecting rents, determining site rules and regulations (where appropriate upholding allotment legislation) for tenants, and maintaining all elements of the site, including for the first time the infrastructure of roads, trees, fences and water pipes.

Each of 37 societies holds one or more 38 year leases, possibly the longest ever offered by any Council on an allotment site. This long lease gives the societies the strongest incentive to do long term planning to keep their societies strong and their sites well maintained and popular. It also gives the security necessary to attract grants to make improvements to their sites.

The first allotment site was handed over in February 2012 and by the end of 2013 all had been handed over with the leases back dated to 1 April 2013.

In October 2014, with most leases signed and with the societies well on the road to sustainable self management, BAF produced a report setting out how the move to self management was made and describing some of the difficulties and lessons learned. It also includes a description and statistical presentation of the progress made by the societies in preparing themselves to undertake self management, and the challenges still facing them. This report, Allotment Self Management – The Barnet Process, can be accessed here.

Schedule of Self Management Tools and Advice – A paper listing all current management advice including e-mail advice not on this web page.

Self Management Checklist – A paper setting out the things to do for allotment societies June 2013.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website.