Newbury Town Council's £8,000.00 allotment bill!, And he still hasn't been properly evicted!!! Options

[Cognosco]

You cant hide away from the fact that it started over a rise in which Simon disagreed with. Its beyond a joke now, words would fail me as to what I think of him at this time.

So nothing to do with the council then?

[Andy Capp]

Read the posts! They were complaining about an illegal contract not the rent increase amount as such! Strewth!

Don't worry, Andy is on a mission and that account is not the only one operated by the same user.

[Cognosco]

If it takes someone like Simon to expose the corruption in the council then I support him.

Yes pity there are not more like him in Newbury it may be a better place to live and work if there were!

[Cognosco]

I don't, he's made abit of an idiot of himself

Pot and kettle is prominent in my mind after reading this post!

[andy1979uk]

Pot and kettle is prominent in my mind after reading this post!

I have one account thanks

[Cognosco]

I have one account thanks

I see just how observant and careful you are with your reasoned debates I have never mentioned anything about your accounts I think you may find that it was Andy.

[andy1979uk]

I see just how observant and careful you are with your reasoned debates I have never mentioned anything about your accounts I think you may find that it was Andy.

whoever it was

[Andy Capp]

Anywho, I've decided to throw the towel in and surrender my tenancy. I don't see this ending other than through litigation, and I don't have deep enough pockets for that. I'm far from certain that I can successfully challenge the Notice to Quit on the basis that the Council can't produce the minutes of the meeting that decided it, and that was the only argument that was simple enough to deal with cheaply in the small claims court. The Article 6 grounds and unreasonableness grounds are complex with plenty of scope for an appeal, and likewise the challenge of the lawfulness of the Council's resolution to discriminate against who they let plots to.

The stress of it has also taken its toll on my health and I need to move on now. I'm grateful for you comments, the critical ones and the supportive ones. It's given me plenty to reflect on.

The only lessons I see you need to learn are strategy and support.

Set gaols and only focus on those things that facilitate them. Don't get tied-up in 'petty arguments'. Stick to the substantive points. Don't make unnecessary enemies (e.g. Cllr Allen).

Don't do it alone. Get support from your peers because unless you have clear incriminating evidence, you won't get anywhere otherwise.

Get political support. This broken local democracy is such that you had no political support. It means you were on to a hiding to nothing.


One thing that is definitely wrong. A site warden should not be a councillor or related to a councillor. That needs addressing.

[Cognosco]

The only lessons I see you need to learn are strategy and support.

Set gaols and only focus on those things that facilitate them. Don't get tied-up in 'petty arguments'. Stick to the substantive points. Don't make unnecessary enemies (e.g. Cllr Allen).

Don't do it alone. Get support from your peers because unless you have clear incriminating evidence, you won't get anywhere otherwise.

Get political support. This broken local democracy is such that you had no political support. It means you were on to a hiding to nothing.


One thing that is defiantly wrong. A site warden should not be a councillor or related to a councillor. That needs addressing.

Especially if it means they get a Freebie plot out of it. So much for a big society another of Dave's ideas had fallen by the wayside in newbury.

[Grumpy]

Did they ever make a sequel to the NeverEnding Story?

[blackdog]

Did they ever make a sequel to the NeverEnding Story?

No - it ended.

[Cognosco]

Did they ever make a sequel to the NeverEnding Story?

They renamed it the "Never Ending Gaffs of Newbury Local Authorities"

[Newbelly]

The only lessons I see you need to learn are strategy and support.

Set gaols and only focus on those things that facilitate them. Don't get tied-up in 'petty arguments'. Stick to the substantive points. Don't make unnecessary enemies (e.g. Cllr Allen).

Don't do it alone. Get support from your peers because unless you have clear incriminating evidence, you won't get anywhere otherwise.

Get political support. This broken local democracy is such that you had no political support. It means you were on to a hiding to nothing.

Perhaps if such words of advice had been offered earlier, things may have been different and a lot of stress and money saved?

[Cognosco]

Perhaps if such words of advice had been offered earlier, things may have been different and a lot of stress and money saved?

Are you not of the opinion that it is about time the council were held to account in obeying laws and regulations the same as us mere mortals. The two local authorities have got away with no transparency and not representing the taxpayers for far to long. They just womble along from day to day doing just the same as they always have in their own little cocooned world. Along comes someone who has a bit of gumption and knows the way the council are carryng out business is not really to the benefit of the taxpayers and has the temerity to point this out. Of course there occurs a flurry of the usual....troublemaker this should not be allowed....where will this all lead to if he is not stopped.....why, we have a councillor actually running his allotment site how could it possible be made better.....we are an ancient council.....we know how things should be traditionally carried out.....no he must be stopped in his tracks.
Taxpayers who feel some sympathy for Simon secretly hopes that he is able to take on the council but keep their heads down the motto is in Newbury you can't take on the authorities.

And it appears the silent ones were correct? Even though backed by trading standards, a part of the same hierarchy that Simon was taking on, who reluctantly after deciding there was no way out ruled that the council were wrong the council still gets away with victimisation!

They try every dirty trick in the book to make him back down all to no avail. The council refuse to make public minutes of council meetings even under the freedom of information act. The Chief Executive gets taken to court and wriggles out on a technical point.
The coucil tries to get Simon to sign a new contract, complete with a gagging clause, that means Simon would be unable to make public any wrong doings of the council in the future without the express permission of the Chief Executive. This alone, in a less apathetic borough, would have brought the taxpayers out in droves to protest and insist councillors start resigning.
The council refuse to take Simon to court for non payment of rent.....the general opinion is becuase they would lose.
So all they can do is say.....sod off you have caused us major problems exposing our gaffs and we no longer want you as a tenant?

And what do we hear from taxpayers........ oh well they left me alone I am ok....for now anyway?

The problem is there is no choice of selection when it comes to politics in Newbury. You only have the choice of two and both of those come from the same mold so really Newburians perhaps deserve to be led by likes of the untransparent self satisfied misfits that usually sits on our merry go round of undemocratic local politics.

Still look on the bright side this little fracas has only cost £8000, that we know of, and the council can now carry on as usual and the taxpayers of Newbury can carry on paying over the odds for administration costs that are far above what they should be and the merry councillors can sit and waffle at council meetings and pat each other on the back for sorting that little distraction over the allotments and everything in Newbury will be back to normal....just as it should be.

No harm done....honesty, justice, fairness, transparency blown out of the water but that is the small price that has to be paid to continue the traditions of dear old Newbury!

[Andy Capp]

Perhaps if such words of advice had been offered earlier, things may have been different and a lot of stress and money saved?

I doubt he realised the council could stoop so low.

[Andy Capp]

No harm done....honesty, justice, fairness, transparency blown out of the water but that is the small price that has to be paid to continue the traditions of dear old Newbury!

At least I have been warned off of voting for Julian Swift-Hook and his spineless colleagues, the Liberal Democrats.

[Biker1]

At least I have been warned off of voting for Julian Swift-Hook and his spineless colleagues, the Liberal Democrats.

That happened to me many years ago.
I find it hard to believe I once voted for them!

[Newbelly]

Moving forward, could there be a proper or better mediation element in contracts for allotmenteers where an unconnected third party can help?

The legal profession supports mediation before litigation in many areas of dispute and I cannot but think that an independent local solicitor (for example) could have spent a few hours reviewing the dispute and taking a view? This could either be pro-bono or for a modest fixed fee. Even if not altogether legally binding, it may give both parties a steer on their behaviour?

From what I have read, NTC have not exactly covered themselves in glory over this, but for there to be a meeting of minds, both parties have to be reasonable and sometimes give a bit of ground (no pun intended!).

[Cognosco]

Moving forward, could there be a proper or better mediation element in contracts for allotmenteers where an unconnected third party can help?

The legal profession supports mediation before litigation in many areas of dispute and I cannot but think that an independent local solicitor (for example) could have spent a few hours reviewing the dispute and taking a view? This could either be pro-bono or for a modest fixed fee. Even if not altogether legally binding, it may give both parties a steer on their behaviour?

From what I have read, NTC have not exactly covered themselves in glory over this, but for there to be a meeting of minds, both parties have to be reasonable and sometimes give a bit of ground (no pun intended!).

Therein lies the problem. NTC, after trying to stall an allotment association, kept up the pretence that they would look at the possibilities of an association. Yet evidence clearly shows they were adamant that there would be no association.
One of NTC own councillors was responsible for the running of the Wash Common allotments and no tenant was going to say how they could run it better for the tenants and taxpayers alike. This refusal to even consider looking at an association let alone self management was how the fiasco started. It has since been suggested that if the NTC had the allotments taken from their control then it would mean the end of the need for a Town Council. It has also been shown that the council costs for administering the allotments is exorbitant meaning that this is putting a needless extra burden on taxpayers.

As to the suggestions of a mediator that would only work if both parties were prepard to participate it is clearly obvious the the NTC were not.
Simon, in good faith, produced facts and figures to the public to back up his claims and apart from the council claiming the figures Simon produced were wrong; has never produced evidence to the contrary.
The council then started making life difficult for Simon and anyone who they thought, pointed out by the NTC Councillor, were backing him by inspecting allotments etc in the middle of winter.
This progressed to other even nastier and vindictive claims being made against him all with not a shred of evidence only that he was using up officer time.

There is no need to explain now all the other unjust and dishonrouble tactics the council used as they have been well aired. Suffice to say it has culminated in the council being brought into disrepute for trying to submit a gagging contract and the withholding of minutes of council meetings, if it is as thought they don't wish made public, because it would show exactly how Simon was mistreated.

So yes a mediation service would be a good suggestion for other towns but as NTC have proven, not only over this fiasco but also many others in the recent past, it would not work in Newbury as they want to dictate what Newburians want and no one else should get in the way of this. A local mediator would be risking their livelihood unless they proved they would back the council anyway.
Other town councils and government bodies may be steering, albiet slowly, towards transparency and openess but this will never extend to Newbury whilst we have a council that can be allowed to treat taxpayers with such disdain.
I also think perhaps Newburians deserve such a disreputable council for not trying to find out what the council has been trying to cover up in their name and treating a taxpayer in such an appalling manner for only producing facts and figures to back up a claim for an allotment association leading to possible self management.

So good suggestion but not workable with this disreputed council I fear.