Allotment rent increases lowered after backlash

A city's allotment rents will increase next year but by less than was previously planned.

Bristol City Council wanted to more than double the charge for a plot, to help pay for a growing backlog of repairs.

But tenants opposed the plans, claiming there was "no logic to the increases". Charges will now go up from £50 to either £66 without water or £76 with water.

Chair of the public health committee Stephen Williams said: "We’ve tried to make the process as open as possible and to listen to all the viewpoints."

There are 4,500 allotment plots in Bristol and the council has not increased allotment rent since 2018.

The original plan was to increase rents to £79 without water or £89 with water, and tenants have "welcomed" the revised rates and the proposed introduction of an allotment officer in City Hall.

Ruth Hecht, from the Dubbers Lane allotments, said: "One of the unexpected outcomes of the prolonged fight to keep allotment rents affordable is that tenants have found a collective voice, and in the process have discussed a myriad of solutions to the many problems the allotment service currently faces.”

Mr Williams added that future annual increases will be "significantly lower".

Green Councillor Fi Hance said: “This proposal is an example of the positive, collaborative and transparent decision making that the new committees are capable of when talking with communities."

The new charges will come into force in October 2025, and people will be able to pay by direct debit in monthly or quarterly instalments.