Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1       To seek permission from Committee to implement a Memorandum of Understanding  (MOU) with the Probation Board of Northern Ireland (PBNI) to provide a maintenance support service for allotment users.

2.0       Recommendation

2.1       Committee is asked to approve the attached MOU and to give permission for its implementation.

3.0       Main Report

3.1       Open Spaces and Streetscene officers have held meetings with PBNI to explore the possibility of working in partnership to provide maintenance services for allotment users. The pilot initiative will focus on the Annadale site. The MoU attached at appendix A is the practical outworking of those discussions. The committee is asked to approve the MoU, which would allow officers to begin its implementation.

3.2       The Council has a long-established partnership in place with the PBNI through the provision of its graffiti removal service. This partnership is facilitated under a similar MoU arrangement to the one proposed herein. We are keen to build on this relationship in order to provide support to both existing and new allotment users, with the focus initially on our Annadale site.

3.3       Primarily the support by PBNI will be aimed at supporting those plot holders who are unable, for a variety of reasons e.g. sickness, are unable to manage their own plots at the time being. The plots will be agreed with the allotment committee and holders in advance of any works being carried out.

3.4       Proposed works undertaken as part of this MoU by the PBNI team will include:

-       Work to manage and maintain individual plots, where the plot holder is currently unable to manage the plot themselves due to temporary illness;

-       Work to manage and maintain those plots that have not been allocated for a long period of time due to being in a state of disrepair and therefore, unattractive to any new tenant.

-       Work to manage and maintain common areas and internal hedges (this would normally be the responsibility of the allotment holders).

3.5       Work will be carried out one day per week during normal working hours. The PBNI team will be supervised by their own staff at all times when on site. It is anticipated that the programme of work will begin from 1st April 2024 and will last to September 2024. Work will be carried out one pre agreed day per week within normal working hours.

3.6       All existing allotment users will be communicated with in advance of the initiative beginning. This will be directly through our parks outreach team, and also through the Allotment committee which is fully supportive of the initiative, and will be involved in its implementation.

3.7       The MoU has been vetted by BCC Legal Services

3.8       Financial & Resource Implications

            All costs associated with the operation of this MoU will be covered by the PBNI. This will include any equipment, PPE and / or fuel costs.

3.9       Equality or Good Relations Implications

            There are no equality or good relations implications in this report.”

            Discussion ensued regarding the number of abandoned allotments at Annadale and the long waiting list of people looking allotments.  Several of the Members highlighted the need for the Council to have better control and management of plots that were not being maintained or had been abandoned.

            During discussion officers also agreed to investigate if larger allotments could be divided up, it was felt that this might help to assist with the waiting list issue and also might enable people to avail of smaller, more manageable plots as some of the current allotments were quite large.

            The Members also were advised that a business case was currently being drawn up to establish terms of reference to appoint a consultant to review the Council’s Allotments and Community Garden assets and it was agreed that, when appointed, the Consultants would also need to give consideration to Community Asset Transfers.

            A Member also suggested that if the initiative with the PBNI was successful that officers would investigate if it would be possible to extend this arrangement to other Council Allotments.

            The Committee:

·        approved the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Probation Board of Northern Ireland (PBNI) to provide a maintenance support service for allotment users at the Annadale Allotments; and

·        agreed to see if would be possible to extend this arrangement with the PBNI to other Council Allotments;