The Political Argument over the Stoke Road Allotments  1958 to 1963

THE CAST

NAGS        National Allotment & Gardens Society Ltd. (Advisor, agent)
BA&GA     Blisworth Allotments & Gardeners Association
RTB            Richard, Thomas and Baldwins Ltd. (Land Owners)
PC              Blisworth Parish Council
NCC           Northamptonshire County Council
Acme          The Acme Building Company Ltd. (Developer)
The District Council, TRDC (forerunner of SNC), seemed to be silent in 
this account - strange because TRDC should be the "planning authority".

THE STORY   This records the attempted development of the remaining allotment field off the Stoke Road in 1959 and the ensuing interaction between the owners of the land, the allotment holders and the councils. This is the most complete account now available and we are fortunate that Jane Percival has kept sheaves of letters on the early history of the allotments.  Ron French, secretary to the BA&GA, took the brunt of the officialese yet managed to maintain a clear and professional bearing in his letters.

1958   As a result of Acme's development of nearly half the allotment field (Greenside) some villagers have been successfully
           moved to the remainder of the field and some moved to the Council Allotments; no numbers given.

3/5/1959   BA&GA formed

(1959   NB:  PC met at two month intervals)

3/7/1959   BA&GA joins the NAGS who become invaluable as agent in discussions and source of advice and moral support

10/9/1959   NAGS express concern about national apathy to using allotments - rally with questionnaire

26/9/1959   Northamptonshire politicians are lobbied with questionnaire results indicating plenty of 
                   "common men" who find the use of allotments both good leisure and good economics

1/10/1959   Acme file an application to develop the rest of the allotment field

30/10/1959   First BA&GA communication to the PC urging support from them for the allotments

1/1/1960    Acme's application was refused - appeal is expected

14/2/1960   RTB issues the first notice to quit to individual tenants (as that was the setup at the time).  These notices would
                  expire (ie. come into force) 25/3/1961 as the landlord must allow continued access for a season and a half.

21/3/1960   The County planning officer (NCC) is given to understand that allotments are not needed in Blisworth

11/10/1960   BA&GA send rents to RTB - they are accepted, presumably because of the season and one half rule

31/3/1961  BA&GA accept £13 of residual money from the defunct "Pig Club" represented by
                  Messrs. Douglas, Stewart and Sturgess.

17/7/1961   PC say they will try for compulsory purchase

14/9/1961   PC ask BA&GA for basic info. on plot holders, names, size of plot, usual rent etc.

4/11/1961   In response to an idea, BA&GA provides info. on how many villagers would buy their plot
                   17 say they would but 8 say no.

13/11/1961   Negotiation broken down, PC cannot afford £1000 without better circumstances
                     BA&GA writes to NCC asking for advice under the circumstances, their DV suggested £625

23/1/1962   BA&GA feeling desperate - they declare to NAGS they have no friends on the PC

19/2/1962   Part of NCC advice is for villagers to purchase their own plots.  Bad advice say NAGS as the tenancies
                   would be much weaker (divide and conquer applying . .)  Nevertheless BA&GA feel obliged to answer the
                  PC question (the NCC question really!) as to how many villagers would buy and gave the answer 18 with
                  8 individuals preferring not to (as stated 3 months earlier).

3/5/1962   Curious - NAGS point out that there is no signed notice to BA&GA giving a quit demand.  Is he suggesting
                 that individual letters to the villagers back in 14/2/1960 were not legally significant?

27/5/1962   In response to letters from NAGS and from BA&GA, George Freeston the Clerk, says that nought can be
                   done for the time being in a letter designed to infuriate with its detachment.  He points out a rule that says that
                   the committee cannot review a voted decision (that purchase at £1000 is not affordable etc.) within six months.      
                  Unfortunately, he says, the letter arrived too early.  Yet, according to the parish council minutes, the decision
                  to defer was taken on May 21st 1962, this being a full six calendar months and 16 days after the original
                  meeting on Nov 5th, 1961.

8/6/1962    BA&GA, evidently incandescent with George Freeston, request he does not hide behind the spurious reference
                  that plots (v. small ones) exist on the Council allotments as there are nowhere near enough

19/7/1962   BA&GA records that RTB will not accept any rent payments thus making the users "tenants at will"

24/7/1962   NAGS notes that PC has agreed to a compulsory purchase and proceed again with discussions
                   (which evidently came to nought as well; their secondary failure seems to not even be recorded)

14/9/1962   BA&GA notes that the PC will not compulsory purchase owing to the high price etc. but that they have lodged
                   a strongly worded letter to the district council saying that the land development is unwarranted etc.
                   Concerned that RTB are nagging about villagers still using the allotments yet BA&GA have to keep encouraging
                   villagers not to become scared so that pressure of numbers is still maintained

11/10/1962   BA&GA was fearing an appeal on the refusal - this must be a possible second appeal

22/10/1962   The land commission of the Min. of Agriculture and Fisheries intends to inspect the allotments - there is no
                     comment anywhere as to an outcome

14/11/1962   Ron French expresses concern as to what may be in the Grafton Deeds for the field in case villagers
                     have no leg to stand on as "tenants at will".  Also concern that a thinning of these tenants has occurred
                     because people don't wish to waste their time on an allotment they may well loose.

12/12/1962   This was when the planning appeal refusal was finally announced.  It is said that sewer inadequacies
                      were a factor but if that were the case why did Acme even bother to appeal?

19/12/1962   RTB request the resubmission of a returned rent cheque

1/1/1963   NAGS congratulates BA&GA on finally "wearing down RTB" - notes that TRDC's firm turning down of the
                 planning permission appeal as "the end of the matter" though all the lobbying must have helped

1/1/1963   Polite BA&GA vs. RTB dialogue on list of current tenants etc.

9/4/1963   There was a continuation of this dialogue and thereafter all was sweetness and light.  But there was a conviction
                 amongst villagers, even many who were not allotment holders, that officialdom did not serve the village well.  We
                 can see they were quite right; in October 1954 there was a district council plan to add over 100 extra council
                 houses to the village so it must have been common knowledge within district and county councils that Blisworth was
                 "scheduled" for expansion yet the vision escaped them that they could have bought the plot for £1000, with the
                 "borrowed money" they were so worried about, and charge sufficient rent to allotment holders to not require any
                 increase in the parish council precept.  Ron French mentioned there were no friends on the parish council and he
                 was right; this was an era in which the parish council did not properly represent the villagers.  Expansion
                 did strike the village later, not in terms of council houses but through speculative development.  The demand for
                 allotments in the village since then has been healthy up to times in which the economics for domestic leisure
                 had changed dramatically.  In future, the use community land is put to will favour such items as club buildings,
                 games pitches and car parks at the expense of allotment area and council owned land will be in the forefront to
                 satisfy this change - it is a pity we lack a good supply of it.