Help+support

[pargyle]

Check your local asc web page they might have offers for sites.
I did just that 2 weeks ago, I now have an out apiary. The land owners paid for new hives, frames etc, said I could keep the honey and gave me the key to an out house for equipment.
I think I've been very lucky!

asc webpage ? Sorry ..what's that ?

 

[MJBee]

Association Webpage perhaps

 

[ultreen1]

Association Webpage perhaps

Yes

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Best to start with your local councillor, maybe try and find an alternative site with their help.

emphasise the 'plight of the pollinator' and just try and get them to help find an alternative site (as Veg says - don't expect the council to pay for a new site)
I know that in my parish one of the more senior councillors is very sympathetic to beekeepers

 

[yeogi75]

i live in Leicester and worked for the council environmental dept, if you live in a council house they have on there agreement, that no livestock to be kept without there permission, i suggest a meeting at the offices and discuss it personally, and suggest a site meeting see what you are up against first

 

[Luminos]

emphasise the 'plight of the pollinator' and just try and get them to help find an alternative site (as Veg says - don't expect the council to pay for a new site)
I know that in my parish one of the more senior councillors is very sympathetic to beekeepers

 

[REDWOOD]

Plan your attack, as other posts said but also tell them they cannot be moved yet as they have young

 

[Curt123]

Thanks for all your advice.
My plan of attack is simple if there it is in the terms and conditions that no live stock is allowed that means no pets aswell. But the council allow pets so i can class them as pets There are endangered species. There environmental friendly may I should contact green peace may the will fight my corner.
I have a tree so if the case not allowed on council propery I will house the hive in a tree .
The don't own the air or the trees.

 

[pargyle]

Thanks for all your advice.
My plan of attack is simple if there it is in the terms and conditions that no live stock is allowed that means no pets aswell. But the council allow pets so i can class them as pets There are endangered species. There environmental friendly may I should contact green peace may the will fight my corner.
I have a tree so if the case not allowed on council propery I will house the hive in a tree .
The don't own the air or the trees.

The 'pets' argument won't hold water ... you will find that the Council have a definition of ' domestic pets' and one for 'livestock' . The tree is on their property, that doesn't work either.

You need to be more rational in your discussions with the council :

a) Determine what their grounds are for asking you to remove the bees.
b) Ask them (nicely) where it is written that you cannot keep bees.
c) Establish what will happen to you if you decline to move them.
d) Demonstrate that your bees have not caused a nuisance (unless, of course, they have !)
e) Play for time - tell them it's impossible to move the bees at present as they are 'no longer dormant'.
f) Ask the Council if they have anywhere that you could site your hive.

I would not be hopeful, councils have quite a lot of power over their tenancies ... if you have neighbours who have complained then you are probably not going to be allowed to keep the bees at home. Look for somewhere else to keep them whilst your discussions progress.

 

[Curt123]

If I can't keep livestock why have they allowed me to keep chickens with no issues.
I thought chickens is classed as livestock

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If I can't keep livestock why have they allowed me to keep chickens with no issues.
I thought chickens is classed as livestock

Councils tend to 'turn a blind eye' unless there's complaints of nuisance, a public health issue or the welfare of the animals seem compromised

 

[Hivemaker.]

I thought chickens is classed as livestock

I thought they were classed as poultry.

 

[pargyle]

If I can't keep livestock why have they allowed me to keep chickens with no issues.
I thought chickens is classed as livestock

Presumably because nobody has either noticed or complained ... Councils rarely allow their tenants to keep 'non domestic' animals and are a bit funny about pets if neighbours complain about them or there are what they consider 'too many' pets being kept.

Your biggest problem is going to be the neighbours and probably, when the Housing Liaison Officer discovers you have chickens he will be onto them as well.

You may be on a stickier wicket as a result of your chooks ... they may not help your case.

 

[Curt123]

The council area manger as seen the chickens and also I have read the tenancy agreement and says nothing about bees. So I'm allowed to keep them in other words would this be true.

 

[Hivemaker.]

So I'm allowed to keep them in other words would this be true.

Example....Keeping of Pets - North West Leicestershire District Council

Keeping of Pets

(a) You must comply with any direction given by the Council prohibiting or imposing conditions on the keeping of any animal at the property.

(b) Tenants are allowed to keep fish,caged birds,small caged animals and other domestic pets if under proper control.However, animals such as cats and dogs are not allowed in flats ans maisonettes having communal entrances, staircases or lifts unless otherwise agreed by the Council at the commencement of tenancy.

(c) You are responsible for any animal in,or visiting your property, which must not cause any annoyance, or nuisance, including frightening and endangering other people.

(d) Dogs must be accompanied by the tenant or a responsible member of the household, and kept on a lead in communal areas.

(e) You must comply with any signs displayed on a grassed open space which prohibit or regulate fouling and not allow your pet to foul or soil any other communal areas or children's play areas. You must also clean up any fouling by your pet.

(f) You and any person living in, or visiting the property, must keep any animal in his or her care in a responsible manner and under proper control at all times.

(g) You must not keep any livestock, examples of which are(but not limited to)horses,donkeys,goats,pigs,cattle,ducks,geese,chickens or pigeons at the property without the written consent of the Council.

(h) Any pets or animals that you keep in your home must not cause damage to you home and/or a nuisance to your neighbours and/or their lawful visitors.
http://www.nwleics.gov.uk/pages/keeping_of_pets

 

[pargyle]

The council area manger as seen the chickens and also I have read the tenancy agreement and says nothing about bees. So I'm allowed to keep them in other words would this be true.

Looks like HM just beat me to it, i'd just found a similar document ... whilst it does not specifically refer to bees there is enough in there to allow the Council to do more or less what they want in relation to what you keep on their property. You don't appear to have spoken to them about keeping chickens or bees in your garden to gain their permission and someone has made a complaint about your bees. You should be in damage limitation mode now ... negotiate and hope for an understanding Housine Liaison Manager. Good luck, I hope it all works out.

 

[domino]

The council area manger as seen the chickens and also I have read the tenancy agreement and says nothing about bees. So I'm allowed to keep them in other words would this be true.

I'm betting in there somewhere is a catch all, just because there isn't an explicit reference to bees doesn't mean they can't tell you to remove them.

Your best bet is to chat with them as see what the issue is, if you've had them for a while with no problems it's worth pointing them out.

I'd love to keep bees in my garden, I back onto a wood and hives would do very well here. I just don't want grief from my neighbours.

 

[drex]

I had this argument with council when wanting to keep bees on allotment. Legally you do not have a leg to stand on. Be polite. Gather sensible info. Get as many neighbours on your side, be polite but persistent. It paid off for me, after initial refusal they agreed and now bring Britain in bloom judges to see my plot each year. So they saw the good in it for them too.

 

[isc26]

I'd first write up a plan to show how you avoid to reduce nuisance, Then approach the Council's environment and maybe allotment officer with it an try to enlist support from them.

 

[Dishmop]

Right OK.

Different councils have different rules but Norwich council told me that there is no rule saying that bees cannot be kept at a council house.

However,
there will be rules about causing a nuisance,

i.e. my neighbour complained about bee poo on her car.

that didnt work so she tried to gather a few followers and added that "bees come in the house" whereas she had previously said (and it was on record) that she didnt mind about that. Somebody also said that bees came into their house and garden. Well, so do wasps and flies.

Then we had a change of housing officer and I think he thought that he had to show that he was doing his job, and came to see me a couple of times but then said there had been further compliants and it therefore came under the heading of "nuisance" and the bees had to go, and if I refused I could be evicted. Now considering how they never seem to evict "neighbours from hell" I didnt see that they would evict me.
I asked him if they could evict a tennant whos cat crapped in everybodies gardens, and he said no because it was classed as a wild animal.

So....... I had to point out to him that bees are also wild animals and once out of my garden, did not belong to anybody, let alone me.

A week few weeks later he phoned and said that he had written to neighbours asking if they had further complaints, but had not received any replies, but to be fair he would write again.
I also contacted the local paper with the story. The reporter said that he would have to speak to council to confirm what I had said.
Next day council bloke phoned and said I could keep the bees.