Summary: Mr X complained the Council mismanaged a local allotment site by allowing a small recycling facility to occupy allotment sheds which were meant for allotment use. Mr X states this has been detrimental to himself, the site and other allotment users. The Council was at fault when it failed to take action to regularise the situation. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to address this.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council mismanaged a local allotment site and as a result it has allowed a small recycling group to occupy allotment sheds which are meant for allotment use.
2. Mr X says that because of this, the recycling group secured a plot ahead of others on the waiting list. In addition, he states unauthorised people are constantly on the site to access the recycling facility, wildlife habitats have been destroyed at the front of the site and there are unsightly bins, fly-tipping and the dumping of rubbish and litter at the front of the site. Mr X says people connected to the recycling group are hostile towards the allotment users.
3. He wants the Council to evict the recycling facility, clear away the rubbish, return the space to communal allotment use and allocate the plot to the next person on the waiting list.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I spoke to Mr X and considered his view of the complaint.
7. I made enquiries of the Council and considered the information it provided.
8. I wrote to Mr X and the Council with my draft decision and considered their comments before I made my final decision.

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What I found

The Allotments Act 1925

9. Section 8 of the Allotments Act 1925 states councils cannot dispose of statutory allotment land without the Secretary of State’s consent.

What happened

10. In August 2019, a small recycling group emailed the Council to inform it that it had taken over several disused sheds on the allotment site on which Mr X has a plot. The recycling group asked what steps it needed to take to formalise the situation.
11. There were discussions but no evidence of any substantive action by the Council until April 2021 when an incident between the recycling group and an allotment member brough the matter again to the Council’s attention.
12. In May, the Council instructed its legal department to begin the process of applying to the secretary of state to dispose of the land occupied by the recycling facility.
13. In November, an internal Council email stated the application was complete and it was ready to be submitted to the secretary of state. This did not happen.

Council response to my enquiries

14. In its response to my enquiries, the Council stated it became aware of the situation in March 2021. Mr X has provided emails from August 2019 between Council officers detailing a site visit and information informing it the recycling group had moved into the sheds.
15. The Council also said during my investigation that the application was underway.
16. I issued an initial draft decision based on this information. Following a challenge by Mr X, I requested further information from the Council about the status of its application to the secretary of state. The Council said the application had been paused after a staff member left. It did not provide an update on when it intended to restart the process.

My findings

17. Section 8 of the Allotments Act 1925 states councils cannot dispose of statutory allotment land without the secretary of state’s consent.
18. The Council first became aware the recycling group had taken over part of the allotment site in 2019. It is of concern that the Council informed the Ombudsman that it first became aware of the situation in 2021 as the emails Mr X has sent me shows this is not the case.
19. The Council has been aware the recycling group has occupied allotment land for over three years and has taken no action to address the issue, either by applying to the secretary of state to dispose of the land or by removing the group. Even taking into account the effect of COVID-19 on Council services for some of that time, these delays are significant and are fault.
20. I cannot come to a decision on the injustice to Mr X because I do not know if the secretary of state will grant any request by the Council to dispose of the allotment land. However, I have made recommendations to start the process to decide the future of the disputed land which, depending on the outcome, may address Mr X’s desired outcomes.

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Agreed actions

21. Within three months of the date of the final decision the Council has agreed to decide on its course of action in relation to the utilisation of allotment land for non-allotment purposes and start proceedings accordingly. Where and when appropriate, it has agreed to keep interested parties informed of its decision and actions.

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Final decision

22. There was fault leading to injustice. The Council has agreed to my recommendations. Therefore, I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman