AN ALLOTMENT holder has told of her fears that the city’s allotment service may ‘collapse into chaos’, amid claims there’s been a vacuum of information about a planned reorganisation.

Hilary Moxon asked The Press to discover City of York Council’s intentions for hundreds of allotments across the city, after it revealed last October it was exploring whether a new organisation could provide the service in a ‘more efficient, effective and community-led way’.

York Press:

The changes were expected then to apply to allotments at: Bootham, Carr, Field View, Fulford Cross, Hospital Fields, Glen, Green Lane, Hob Moor, Holgate, Hempland Lane, Howe Hill, New Lane, Low Moor, Scarcroft, Strensall, Wigginton Road and Wigginton Terrace.

Mrs Moxon, who has a plot at Hospital Fields, near Knavesmire, said this week she had received an introductory letter several months ago and heard nothing more.

“It seems there is a proposal well in hand for allotments to be managed by a group of anonymous trustees who have been self-selected and, for all we know, have their own particular axe to grind,”she said. “They may also be superhuman altruistic individuals, of course. We have not to date been told who these people are, nor how they propose to run the allotments.

“We gather that they are going to dispose with any permanent employee, which means that they are going to take on the role of organising matters such as repairs to walls, fences, gates, grass cutting, removal of dangerous substances, tree maintenance, security of sites or rodent removal.”

She said she had heard a key decision was imminent, claiming: “The allotment service is in danger of collapsing into chaos, all because the Conservative council wants to run away as fast as possible from anything that resembles a civic public service.”

Dave Meigh, chief operations officer for public realm, told The Press that a letter was sent to all allotment tenants in January, inviting people to come forward and work with the council to explore new ways of managing the service.

“Twelve people expressed an interest in exploring the options in more detail,” he said.“Six people from the group are now in the early stages of establishing a charity that will be able to run the service in the future. If this approach is approved by the relevant councillor at a decision session in June, the charity will be offered a lease to run the service.”