Cost of allotment set to rise in Worcester

The cost of hiring an allotment in the city could rise by nearly £100 in less than three years, the council has revealed.

Cash-strapped Worcester City Council is setting about recovering the full cost of running its allotments and intends to hike the price of hiring a plot over the next three years.

Under the council’s money-saving plan, the £71.70 it costs to hire a full plot this year would rise to £170 by 2026, and half plots would rise from £35.85 to £85.

The half-price discount for those who held a plot before 2008 would also be scrapped.

The city council is also planning to introduce an ‘optional’ £15 charge to use on-site water mains.

Running the allotments cost the council £115,000 last year but it only received just under £40,000 in fees – leaving a £71,500 deficit to be picked up by the taxpayer or around £72 a plot.

The cost includes £80,500 staff costs and a £15,000 water bill.

The council’s policy and resources committee will be given two options including a ‘phased’ recovery of the money which would reduce the subsidy to £6,000 a year by 2026. However, to achieve this, all allotment discounts would be scrapped over time with every plot holder eventually paying full price.

The second option, which is being recommended by council officers, would stick with the ‘phased’ recovery but keep some discounts for over 60s, students and those on a low income.

This would marginally reduce the taxpayer subsidy for allotments – saving around £14,000 next year – but the yearly deficit would still stand at £57,000 in 2024 and £23,500 in 2026.

The city council runs 23 allotment sites with nearly a thousand full 250 square metre plots ranging from the six-plot sites in Cherry Street and Winchester Avenue to the larger 117-plot allotments in Droitwich Road and Northwick Road.

The council said it currently has a 300-strong waiting list and around 25 empty plots.

The policy and resources committee meets in the Guildhall from 7pm on Monday, October 16.