Allotment holders have accused council officials of using “Gestapo-like” tactics to threaten them with eviction.

Hundreds of allotment holders in Brighton and Hove have been sent official letters warning them that they will be thrown off their plots if they do not remove weeds or trim bushes.

Elderly and disabled gardeners have also been targeted for failing to keep their plots up to the high standards of Brighton and Hove City Council ’s new allotment officer.

Allotment holders accused the council of “Gestapo tactics” saying that a woman with breast cancer, another with a heart condition and a mother who recently gave birth to twins and cannot get her pram up the hill have all been served notices.

The letters cite breaches of the official allotment rules – accusing residents of having too wide paths, too tall trees or building materials to make compost bins on their plots.

One person was told her shed was a “dangerous structure” while a letter to another residents complained of “waste from external sources”.

In each case the gardeners were told they would have 30 days to fix the problem – or face being uprooted.

Campaign group Don’t Lose the Plot has retaliated by sending its own official warning to the council for failing to keep vacant plots and pathways under control.

The letter, addressed to allotments officer David Cooper and signed by “the plot holders of Brighton and Hove”, says: “The council is failing in these responsibilities. 15% are not let. The waiting list is at over 2,000.

“Haulage ways are not being maintained making access very difficult, especially for disabled and elderly people.

“Vacant plots are not being managed and weeds are spreading.”

The council’s own figures show there are 283 vacant plots across the city.

At Whitehawk Hill there are 12 vacant patches.

Moulsecoomb has the most empty plots in the city at 43 – with 81 people on its waiting list.

'Draconian'

At Tenantry Down, at the top of Elm Grove, there are more than 200 people on the waiting list but 40 empty beds.

Gary Johnson, who has a plot at the Whitehawk Hill allotment site, has been campaigning for the rights of allotment holders threatened with the official notices.

He said: “There has always been an allotments officer but for some reason it has become much more draconian.

“It makes no sense having all these vacant plots. At £60 a year, the council is losing out on more than £16,000.

“Instead of kicking people off for tiny things like a few weeds they should be taking care of the areas that are their responsibility.”

Don’t Lose the Plot says that volunteer representatives at allotment sites across the city usually recommend about 20 notices should be served and only in the most serious cases.

But it said this year the allotments officer is “cracking the whip” and more than five times as many letters have been issued.

Brighton and Hove City Council said 883 notices had been served on the city’s 2,966 allotment holders, 95 of which had been rescinded and 64 of which terminated.

A spokeswoman for the council said: “The percentage of notices issued was around 30%.

“There are always some vacant plots as people give up their allotments or have their tenancies terminated. These vacant plots are re-let by the volunteer site representatives to people on the waiting lists.

"The council allotment service is rarely directly involved in letting vacant plots. Letting tends to be done in blocks by the reps at certain periods during the year.

“On at least two sites with more vacant plots than usual the reps are stepping down and we are in the process of arranging handovers to new reps.”

Political motive

Retired civil servant Roger Wheeler only took up his plot two years ago.


He fears the officious enforcement of rules will drive him away. He was also served with a weed notice.


He said: “It has become so political that I have been thinking of giving it up.


“It’s unacceptable behaviour. If they think there is a problem why don’t they talk to us?


“We felt like it was the state police.


“This is gardening. We only do it for fun. And they have taken all the fun out of it, so we might give up.


“In the plots next to mine one woman had breast cancer and one had a heart condition.


“They have both had notices.


“My neighbour had twins and also had a notice, but she can’t get her pushchair up here.”

To find out more about the campaign visit www.dontlosetheplot.org .

Are you waiting for an allotment? Contact Emily Walker at emily.walker@theargus.co.uk .