Introduction We have set out below the Questions which were raised, and the responses given to you on Thursday 27 th Feb 2014. We trust you ll find accurately reflects the information provided, and provides all you need to cast your Vote from an informed position. Why is Self-Management being discussed? A: Self Management is seen as potentially providing a better way of managing our allotments in Worcester and thus providing a better facility for all of us. What exactly is meant by Self-Management? A: Can be defined as: A Site run by a Committee of Tenants from the site who administer the site, and may, optionally, determine & collect rent, let the plots, keep it tidy, etc. - This would mean taking over from WCC the responsibility for some or all of the administrative, and financial control functions of the allotment sites in Worcester What was the Overall Objective of the Tenants Meeting? A: To establish the level of interest amongst Plotholders across the City in adopting a future strategy allowing for Sites to Self-Manage, and to provide a Mandate for the Forum to enter into the Process with WCC to scope, and agree exactly what can be achieved. What would be the Process for adopting Self-Management? A: First and foremost - Set-up a Club / Society / Association for your site. No progress can be made until this first step has been taken. i.e. Now What is an Association? A: Different sorts of Association - Incorporated / non-incorporated - NSALG recommend Incorporated is best, but - Loose Association is possible and frequently chosen, but be aware of personal liabilities. What will this Club do? A: Establish an Interim Committee of site activists to confirm general interest on the site, and establish who will represent it. Then: - Interested Sites to come together to establish a Working Party - Working Party will work with WCC to agree a Framework Agreement - In the light of this each Site will formulate its own Proposal for Self-Management. - Referendum / Ballot on site will be needed to decide to proceed, N.B. NSALG Recommends 80% in favour required. - The site s Plan & proposal would then be put to WCC for formal agreement & execution. When to set up an Association / Club etc? A: When it s required NOW - (Self-Management is NOT a pre-requisite to forming one), but a Club / Association is a pre-requisite to Self-Management C:\md Allotments Forum Tenants Meeting 4-Mar-14.doc Page 1 of 8
Why set up a Club / Association etc? A: Advantages Commitment, organisation & satisfaction. It will be responsible for running the site, rather that a specific Person, according to agreed Rules. o Without a Committee don t even attempt Self-Management [NSALG] What is required to set up a Society / Association / Club? A: Find a group of people willing to do it [NSALG recommend 6 8], then - Draft, agree and adopt a Constitution - Determine subscription rates (ground rent / water/ etc) - Call General Meeting - Open Bank account - Meet monthly (half-hour or so) What might a Framework Agreement with WCC cover? A: Where the site is Leased from the Council (WCC) a Site Rent of a Peppercorn has been agreed in principle with WCC for the land. In addition the WCC will probably bear responsibility for at least:- - Boundary fences, hedges, etc - Roads - Water Supply pipes etc, (but NOT the bills) - Drains & Watercourses - Trees - Other assets (to be defined) WCC responsibilities will be covered by a Service Level Agreement ref: delivery of its obligations & support. What support will WCC provide to the self Management Process? A: The Site(s), under a Peppercorn Lease where required. - Work with Forum s Self-Management Working Party to determine Framework Agreement - Work with each Site Association to finalise its Self-Management proposition, within the parameters of the Framework Agreement And potentially also: - IT facilities (To Be Agreed) How long will this take? A: To set-up initial Association 6 12 months - NSALG recommends the initial Site Committee settles in for a period, a year, before going on to more extensive Site management and then work it up from there. - [Remember we haven t even started no Clubs etc] - Sample Agreements, and related documents are available from many other Allotments, which have adopted Self-Management, which you can use as Pro-Forma. - NSALG is there to help guide & support you [Membership required]. How important is the sustainability and continuity of any new operational model? A: Very C:\md Allotments Forum Tenants Meeting 4-Mar-14.doc Page 2 of 8
- WCC not keen (understandably) in taking failed sites back on their books. How can good Continuity be assured? A: There are no guarantees, but - NSALG recommends regular refreshing & turn-over of the Committee - Easy to use administrative, and financial controls will greatly assist - Especially in continuity and passing over roles such as Secretary and Treasurer to successors, sharing data etc. What are the Self-Management options? A: Reference Richard Wiltshire s article on Self-Management which describes a number of models. In summary: - Dependence: Stay as we are, with WCC doing everything and facing continuing inefficiencies / rent rises / lack of control / lack of development, or at best very slow - Participation: by Site Committee to enable the above to function as efficiently as possible, by doing some of WCC s work for it. - Delegation: Take formal Control of both Administration and Finances. - Semi-Autonomy: Take a Lease of the site from WCC, to exclude them as far as possible from any involvement in the day-to-day matters, and beyond, of the site. [Ref: Richard Wiltshire s Article on this at: http://nora.btck.co.uk/selfmanagement ] Do we have to adopt Self-Management in any degree? A: No. But bear in mind tat the exact scope of Self-Management overall, and for any specific Site will be determined with your assistance. - There is no compulsion to do anything you don t want to, and - Only where there is a substantial majority should your Site adopt Self-Management What do these mean? Q: - Administrative Control? A: Taking on first line responsibility for: Waiting Lists / Non-Cultivation / Eviction / Problem Tenants Q: - Financial Control? A: The Site Committee accepts responsibility for: Setting Tenant s rents on its site / Paying water bills / Setting concessions / Determine development plans & priorities & paying for them / Raising additional monies from other sources, which is possible in the present model, but more extensive potential exists in the full Self-Management model. Will we be able to use WCC IT systems? A: WCC current Allotment systems are out of date, but will potentially be updated if we are to use them. The leading product on a preliminary viewing looks viable Any WCC costs are yet to be determined. C:\md Allotments Forum Tenants Meeting 4-Mar-14.doc Page 3 of 8
Why would we want to use WCC systems? A: Larger sites will need to share data, and any site management committee may wish to do so, especially for the more complex matters (e.g. Evictions). This may be difficult and costly to achieve on your own. A WCC provided solution would provide a standard, which we could all easily adopt. What are the Financial Issues? A: There are prospective benefits such as: Reduced Plot Rent and/or Cash to spend on matters such as Concessions / Improvements / etc. What would we have to do to achieve these benefits? A: Collect the rent (Internet Banking / cash / cheque) / Chase bad payers / Evict for non-payment / Cover Write-Offs on any uncollected monies or non-invoiced plots Q: Can you guarantee that Rents will not go up? A: No it would depend on the decisions & agreements within the new Site Committee Q: What might future rent comprise? A: This will depend upon the Site s own decisions but is likely to consist of: - Ground Rents of 25p 17p or less per square meter have been reported at other sites outside Worcester. - Water 8 20 per plot (Say 6p / square meter) - Public Liability Insurance 1.5-2.5 per Plot. - NSALG Annual Membership 2.00 / plotholder - Less any Age or other discounts at Site s discretion - TOTAL: A Combined Ground + Water rate of 20p / square meter would result in approx 55.00 per full plot before any discretionary concessions. What Legal Issues are there? A: Would we keep the existing Tenancy Agreement with WCC? o Yes (or an updated version) - If land not leased from WCC o But you could still have the potential to adopt local Site Rules on top of. - Q: Why might we want a new Tenancy Agreement? o To change the Rules applicable on the Site, Ts&Cs, etc. o To reflect the new management structure o Essential if Site is Leasing land from WCC - Q: How will we cover Legal Costs? o NSALG membership provides free legal advice Q: Should we do this Together, in Groups or Site by Site? A: The more we work together the more cost effective it will be done. If we have a Lease for the Site from WCC? A: Who signs it? o Unincorporated Association (Personal Joint & Several - responsibility of Trustees) C:\md Allotments Forum Tenants Meeting 4-Mar-14.doc Page 4 of 8
o Incorporated Association (Legal entity with limited responsibility) - Do we have to Lease the Site(s) from the WCC? o No. o Many of the Advantages of Self-Management should be able to be achieved through a Society / Association. - What are the advantages of having a Lease? o Long term security of tenure (not in doubt?) o Lease 10-15 years or more recommended o Tenancy Agreement is directly with the Trustees or Association Ltd. o Easier to manage and change your Tenancy Agreement Ts&Cs. What are the Benefits of Self-Management? A: For the Sites? - Administration Better / less vacancies / more efficient / less costly - Financial Rent & Raised Funds potentially producing surplus funds = Site improvements / Reduced Rent / Subsidising the less able in your society [Concessions] / - Developments e.g. Toilets / Site Hut / Site Equipment / Car parks / funded from:- Surplus rents / Grants; Local / NSALG / Lottery / Loans etc. A: For the Site Reps? - Easier Administration / Less Admin. Errors / Plotholder problems resolved by being more directly managed locally. A: For the Plotholders? - Take on the control & responsibilities from the WCC / Better run site / Reduced Rents and/or / Funds for improvements & developments / Funds to subsidise the less able Plotees in our community [e.g. Elderly] A: For WCC? - Reduced head count in Cleaner & Greener and Finance / Reduced costs / Overall improved efficiency & reduced operational costs What Benefits can be won now and most easily? A: Many of the identified Administrative & Operational benefits can probably be achieved quite easily within the existing infrastructure right now, and perhaps some of the Financial ones as well - In addition under Framework Agreement, with or without Lease, the principal Benefit of Financial Advantage through retention on Site of the some or entire Rental Income What is the Process moving forward? A: With the required Mandate that is to say with 30+% of all Plotholders voting, and 50+% of Votes cast in favour All interested Sites should, together, enter into discussion with WCC to establish the Framework Agreement A: Without this Mandate Any interested Sites should form a Club / Soc / Assoc with interim Transition Committee and enter into direct discussions with WCC on their own behalf. C:\md Allotments Forum Tenants Meeting 4-Mar-14.doc Page 5 of 8
What are our Next Steps? A: These will include:- - Set up your own Site Club / Society / Association. - With your own Site / Association Committee - Decide How Much Self-Management you wish to undertake Admin. only, or Finance as well, in the near future, and potentially beyond. - Define & Adopt your own operational & site rules - Agree & set Rental basis (m2 / Full half plots etc) for the coming year - Put Site Proposal to WCC and (hopefully) agree. Q: Where would the legal liability lie with Self Management? A: Advise:- Public Liability insurance is taken out by the new management committee. Trustees would be personally liable if the correct insurance was not obtained. Membership of the NSALG is also recommended at a small cost per person on site, to provide advice & support, as well as legal assistance would be available from them. Q: Some sites shared a water supply how would the cost be shared if one of them SM? A: Such sites could get together in a single Club / Association to resolve an issue such as this, by agreeing how to share the bill. Alternatively the supplies would need to be separated. Q: Who would be responsible for the water costs? A: In principle each site would be responsible for its own water bill. However there are no set rules, and this issue would be negotiable. Currently some sites average as little as 8 per tenant whilst others as much as 25. Management of water would be a matter for the new committee to agree it was obviously advisable to encourage tenants to conserve rain water in butts etc. Q: What if infrastructure e.g. flood protection / fencing, is inadequate? A: Any issue such as this should be part of the discussion with the Council prior to signing any agreement with them. Pitchcroft for instance had recently experienced a lot of flooding, and the Council have been actively involved with helping out; and would be in the future, including Self- Managed sites, as the WCC will retain ownership of the land and responsibility for the infrastructure.. Q: What about infrastructure such as access? A: There had recently been a significant amount of Section 106 money available for improvements to allotments, and this has been used for access, etc. Individual Plotholders would not need to buy in these services as they would be the Site s responsibility Ref: part of the previously mentioned WCC pledge to be responsible for site infrastructures which included fences, access and water supply structures. Advised that any Club / Association would be able to apply for various grants / funds from many sources if so inclined. Q: How could you ensure that any future management committee would be competent? A: There are many untapped skills available from a large number of tenants on the 25 sites in the City. Any & every Committee should be sustainable it is advisable to form and prove new Committees in advance of signing any Self-Management Agreement with the Council. If a sound C:\md Allotments Forum Tenants Meeting 4-Mar-14.doc Page 6 of 8
committee can not be formed, and sustained the Self-Management bid will not progress. / The Council would be retaining overall responsibility, and would check the competence of Committees along the way. Q: How much would the site have to spend on itself? A: Using the above example (20p) after Water Costs (6p) it would have 13p / square meter. With 16 full plots 1 acre this would amount to: 526.11 / yr. Q: What charges would be made by WCC for the lease of the land and how long would any lease be? A: It is proposed that WCC would only charge a Peppercorn rent e.g. 1 per Self-Managed site. The term would be a matter for discussion and agreement with WCC during evolution of the Proposals. However NSALG are likely to recommend the minimum term should be 5yrs, but it would ideally be 10 or 15yrs or more. Q: Is there a Government move to remove allotment provision by local councils? A: David Sutton - I am unaware of any such suggestion. / Richard Heading - I believe this was discussed in Government a while ago but as a result of public outcry this was put back on the shelf, and is not currently up for discussion. Q: Would there be an issue where prospective tenants would be faced with different sites having different rules and rents? A: Yes, this could be the case, but consider that competition might be helpful, and poorer performing sites might improve as a result. As with all agreements would be made with WCC, variations would be limited by that process. Q: You have said that an 80% Yes vote would be needed to finalise a Self Management Agreement. Does this mean that the other 20% will have their contracts terminated? A: It is up to tenants to influence the vote on their site by being involved in the discussions obviously a substantial majority vote (e.g. 80+%) would mean that a Self Management agreement would be signed for the Site, which would include all of the Tenants. - Only where the level of Self-Management undertaken was towards the higher end of involvement would new Tenancy Agreements be required e.g. Where the Site decided to Lease the ground from the Council. - As all tenancies are presently with the Council all current Tenancy Agreements would then need to be terminated, and replaced by new ones with the Site. - Those who did not wish to take up the new Tenancy Agreement would be left without a Tenancy! - Today s meeting is to determine whether there is an interest to pursue Self Management as an option for managing all or any of the Sites in future not a commitment to do it on your site. C:\md Allotments Forum Tenants Meeting 4-Mar-14.doc Page 7 of 8
Q: How would Waiting Lists be managed underself Management? A: WCC may maintain these lists no discussion or decisions on this yet. It could be possible for prospective tenants to swap to other sites as they sometimes do now. Otherwise, ideally, each Site will manage its own Waiting List according to its own rules. Q: Currently plots are let on the basis of a half or whole plot a whole plot being 1/16 th of an acre. Tenants currently change the size of their plots by adjusting widths of the paths etc. How are plots likely to be let under Self Management? A: Rents could be charged by fraction of an acre or by square meter, as happens elsewhere. Other charges such as Water are frequently dealt with in a similar matter in other places. Committees will, in discussion, determine their own fates, Rents and Concessions accordingly. Charges could clearly be affected by conservation of Water and other issues. The new site committees would have any options open to them. Q: Who would exercise the power to evict? A: Where new Tenancy Agreements are signed with your Site Association, it would lie with the Association Committee, otherwise this power would lie with WCC, and be exercised on the recommendation of the Site Committe. In Summary Q: Is Self-Management being forced on us by WCC? A: No - The decision on whether or not we the Plotholders of Worcester Allotments wish to see Self-Management as an option in our future strategy for the management of our allotments is down to you. - Vote YES to have Self-Management as an option in our Future Strategy. Conclusion Don t forget to cast your vote. Every vote is important. We need to know that we have reached as many of the City s Plotholders as possible. Please tell your neighbouring Plotees on your site about what you have learnt tonight. Above all Cast Your Vote We need your support, and your favourable vote to enable Self- Management to become a reality for anyone, even simply as an option for you in deciding how best to manage your Allotment Site in the future. Ballot Boxes are to be found here at the Guildhall (on your way out) / Blooms / Allotment Shop / The Hive or by post to WCC Alex Dentith. C:\md Allotments Forum Tenants Meeting 4-Mar-14.doc Page 8 of 8