ALLOTMENTS

Council bureaucrats are demanding that amateur growers take out millions of pounds of public liability insurance which could force many to abandon their allotments. Plot owners in Somerset have been told to pay for protection in case someone trips over a turnip or slips on a slug and sues for compensation. Other local authorities have been advised to follow suit but the gardeners have found the £400 cost of insurance makes their home-grown produce no longer viable, when the annual rent is just £10.

Geoff Stokes, of the National Society of Allotments and Leisure Gardens, said, “It’s ridiculous. It makes it not worth having an allotment. The average plot holder can produce about £500 worth of food. If they have to pay up to £400 in insurance, plus the £50 cost of seeds and tools on top there is no point in having an allotment. A lot of people, particularly the retired or those on low incomes, could not afford to pay the extra cost of insurance. A lot people would just give up. It could mean the end of the Great British allotment.”

Eleven plot holders in the Somerset village of West Monkton, received letters telling them they must insure themselves against personal injury claims of up to £5million. Parish council clerk Trish Cavill said the town hall was following advice from their insurer Allianz Cornhill. The letter said each allotment owner must have public liability insurance “with a limited indemnity of no less than five million pounds.” West Monkton Parish Council blamed the compensation culture for the need to insure allotments.

Mrs Cavill said, “We live in a health and safety conscious age, and we wanted to clarify the position for allotments. The parish council’s insurance covers the public walkways and paths on the site but not the allotments themselves. If someone trips on a bucket on a path, the council is liable. But if they trip over a bucket on an allotment, the allotment holder is liable.” But surely, they shouldn't be on someone's allotment. This couldn't have anything to do with councils wanting the land to build on could it? (Source: Daily Express, Jun/07)