AN ALLOTMENT holder has called for the town council to rethink its ‘archaic’ policies after he was sent an eviction notice just days after questioning its spending.

Andover resident Steven Brady has been a plot holder at the Old Winton Road allotment site for approximately two years.

He grows fruit and vegetables, and a variety of plants in his greenhouses there, and recently set up rabbit pens with the intention of introducing the livestock to his plot, to breed for meat.

However, on May 17 he sent a freedom of information request to Andover Town Council as he was concerned about the work being done to prevent foxes getting into the sites.

Looking online, he found that more than £4,000 is spent on pest control each year, and he asked for a breakdown of how this budget is spent.

A few days later, on May 21, he received an eviction notice - seen by the Advertiser - dated May 17, citing “non-cultivation” as the reason.

Steven says he feels as though the only explanation is that the notice was a response to him asking questions.

“I was very angry, because I’ve spent a lot of time and money on my plot,” said Steven.

“I have had discussions with the allotments officer since [the letter] and we have established that my plot is not uncultivated! I have always paid my rent on time, I don’t understand what’s going on.”

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The 35-year-old added that the presence of grass on his plot was labelled “unacceptable”, but says that other plots have lots of grass and the tenants have not been evicted.

Steven says he has now been told that he will need to write a letter to the town council, outlining his case, if he wants the eviction to be reversed.

“It’s frustrating, I don’t feel like any of them understand and it’s a different story every time. To me it seems I have asked a question, and now I’ve been excluded. But it’s my right!

“I get such a great joy from being able to grow fruit and veg, and to have the opportunity to keep livestock - not everyone has that chance when living in a town.

“This has caused me a great deal of stress and anxiety. It’s like being kicked out of your house and not knowing why! It makes you lose faith in the system.”

Steven says he does intend to write the letter, but worries it’s “going to fall on deaf ears”.

The eviction notice says his departure from the plot should be immediate but he says “that will not be the case”.

Steven continued: “Despite the fact I have been told to leave, I have still been going every day and looking after it because otherwise it now would be in disrepair!”

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Moving forward, he says all he wants is to be ‘left alone’ and to hopefully stop the same happening to others.

He said: “I think they need to reconsider their policies, because they are pretty archaic and outdated, especially to say no grass when it’s quite widely used.

“I don’t expect an apology or anything from the council, I just want them to leave me alone.”

A spokesperson for Andover Town Council said: "The Town Council is unable to discuss individual cases, but we can assure all residents of Andover that the Council has and always does follow an established procedure for dealing with allotment tenant issues, with evictions being the absolute last resort.

“Should a tenant wish to challenge an eviction notice, they have the right to appeal the decision, which will then be considered by the Allotments Committee."

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