628 



Official Circulars and Notices. 



[NOV., 



OFFICIAL CIRCULARS AND NOTICES. 



The following memorandum, which has been issued as a 

 leaflet, No. 217, has been prepared chiefly for the information, 

 of the local authorities concerned in the administration of the 

 Allotments Acts, but it will also be useful to applicants for 

 small holdings and other persons interested in the Acts. 



The Local Authorities who are responsible for the provision of Allotments in 

 urban areas are the Borough or District Council, and in rural areas the Parish 

 Council, or the Parish Meeting where there is no Parish 



The Administration Council. 



Of the Allotments ^ e ^ rst ste P *° ^ e ta ^- en kv Councils in regard to the 

 . , administration of the Allotments Acts is to institute an 



Acts 



enquiry, either informally through individual members of the 

 Council or by the publication of posters or advertisements 

 in the local press, with a view to ascertaining whether there is any unsatisfied demand 

 for allotments for the labouring population resident in their administrative area, and 

 inviting applicants to apply to the Clerk of the Council. 



The Acts empower Councils to provide allotments up to five acres in size, but 

 there is no obligation on them to provide allotments of more than one acre. 



Allotments may be provided for persons of either sex belonging to the labouring 

 population resident in the borough, district or parish. 



The term " labouring population " is not defined, and might be held to include 

 only those persons whose main occupation involves manual labour. Tradesmen, 

 licensed victuallers or employers of labour, or persons such as clerks whose main 

 occupation is manual work but not manual labour, would be excluded by this con- 

 struction, but in dealing with field gardens and similar small allotments, local 

 authorities seem sometimes to have adopted a wider construction, and let the gardens 

 or allotments to all persons of the working classes to whom they would be of real 

 value, and in the absence of any authoritative decision councils would seem justified in 

 doing this. 



When the applications have been received and have been examined to ensure that 

 they are bona fide, the Council should proceed to ascertain from the local landowners 

 whether they are prepared to sell or let land to the Council. If so, the Council should 

 endeavour to come to terms with the landowners as to the price to be paid or the rent 

 to be charged. 



No land may be acquired for allotments except at such a price or rent as will, in 

 the opinion of the Council, permit of all expenses being recouped out of the rents to 

 be obtained from the allotments. The rents to be charged for the allotments must, 

 therefore, be sufficient to cover all the expenses to which the Council are put in 

 acquiring and adapting the land, with a sufficient margin to cover bad debts and the 

 cost of collection. The land may be improved and adapted by draining, fencing, &c, 

 and cottages and buildings may be erected or existing buildings adapted, but not more 

 than one cottage may be erected for occupation with any one allotment, and no 

 cottage may be erected for occupation with any allotment of less than one acre. 

 Councils will be well advised to satisfy themselves before erecting cottages on small 

 allotments that it will be possible to let them readily at sufficient rents to cover the 

 cost of their erection. 



If a Parish Council decide to purchase the land, they should obtain the consent of 

 the Parish Meeting and apply to the County Council and to the Local Government 

 Board for their sanction to the raising of a loan for the purpose. 



Councils can borrow money in accordance with the provisions of the Local Govern- 

 ment Act, 1894, for a period not exceeding 60 years, 'or from the Public Works Loan 



