I'm being forced to accept a new beekeeping agreement

[Macbear]

I've had a parish council as allotment landlord who suddenly introduced beekeeping conditions and there was nothing I could do about it. Other tenants are happy for me to keep bees for the same reasons as have been given above. Few tenants live in the parish, so can't vote, but if your landlord committee are elected is it possible for you to (a) be elected and (b) get a few other members who would support you in this also to be elected? If the committee is simply run by a clique who put self-interest first it may be the thin end of the wedge and other members will find decisions unacceptable. End result - vacant plots and presumably the committee will have to do weed control for starters.
My landlord put in a clause allowing tenants to sell surplus produce, and this was pointed out to me as a "benefit". As they limit me to a maximum of 4 hives [does this include nucs used in swarm control?] there's no chance of any councillor getting any of my honey - and I give it away. I keep to 2 hives. One councillor even had the cheek to ask me to remove a swarm from his neighbours' garden. I pointed out that I have not volunteered to collect swarms and he must look elsewhere. No doubt, he would be the first to shout if I had added an extra hive to accommodate the bees he asked me to collect!

 

[fian]

The bees aren't going to get paid, whoever gets the profits.
You don't pay your bees, do you?

Well, for this very reason, anyone who makes the effort to "steal" the harvest of a hive for sale is obtaining an "other's" profit and cannot speak of beekeeping as a non-profit activity. I would only consider that this is how it occurs if the beekeeper does not decide to harvest. This year, due to external conditions, I have decided not to harvest honey, distributing the harvest among all the hives. I'm making an investment for next year, we'll see if I'm right.

 

[citybees]

sorry last message was incomplete
The allotment in 2019 set up a charity and has become self managed, and lease the land from local authority.
was previously managed by a external organisation , plot holders have become members constitution does even have the word plot holder
the main change in the new lease was the permitted use of the land so that any surplus produce can only be sold for the purpose of the charity.
there's already a agreement that was put in place in 2020 wrote by a lawyer and 3 beekeepers including myself and one from outside the organisation .
approved by the working group that set up the charity and voted by the following board of trustees in 2022 .
this new group of trustees just decided to ignore it and write a new one without having no discussion nor telling me why the needs of a new one or myself having any involvement like previous time
just a emails asking me to sign

its bulling behaviour

"An allotment garden limited to the cultivation of fruit and vegetables and the keeping of bees subject to the terms of this Lease all food so produced being for consumption by the licensees of allotments and their families PROVIDED THAT the Premises shall not be used for any trade or business (any sale of surplus produce for the purpose of raising funds for the purposes of the Tenant or other charitable purposes excepted) "

this year there was very little honey 3 supers , as I volunteer with a organisation that helps refugees I did a extraction demonstration and all the honey was jarred and distributed to them .
it was a enormous joy to see so many happy faces when they received a jar of honey .

I have always donated to the allotment honey jars or part of the takings made at a allotment xmas sale , this year I haven't .

 

[citybees]

So .. that's not going to affect you is it ? All they are doing is tightening things up so they don't get someone on there who uses it like a smallholding just so they can sell the stuff they grow. Honey is not produce .. unless they have specifically included hive products. What are you worried about ?

how do I demonstrate that honey isn't a produce of the allotment ?

 

[pargyle]

You don't need to... it clearly states as an exception the Sale of surplus produce to raise funds for the tenant or a charity is an exception. As I said earlier... they are just trying to curtail allotments being used for commercial purposes. The sale of surplus honey funds your hobby if there is any left after you and your family have consumed the huge amount your bees produce ...I assume you class yourself as a hobbyist rather than a beefarmer...nothing to worry about...unless you are thinking if supplying Tesco !

 

[North End Bees]

how do I demonstrate that honey isn't a produce of the allotment ?

People have known for nearly a century that bees use the waggle dance to recruit foragers to good sources of nectar, i.e fields full or large trees' worth.

Bees have fidelity for a certain nectar source once they've started on it, and will preferentially fly longer distances for it until it's exhausted rather than shorter distances to random nectar sources.
It's this fidelity which produces honey of a certain (and demonstrable) type.

The tiny patches of flowers in an allotment (tiny compared to a field) will get a few foragers but they will really be the minority.
Your honey is coming from further afield (unless your allotment actually is a field).

The waggle dance doesn't work within the vicinity of the hive because it's not precise enough for short distances less than 100m.

On the other hand, bees do collect pollen locally so you're doing your fellow allotment members a favour for free.

 

[Darryl]

The allotment in 2019 set up a charity and has become self managed, and lease the land from local authority.
was previously managed by a external organisation , plot holders have become members constitution does even have the word plot holder
the main change in the new lease was the permitted use of the land so that any surplus produce can only be sold for the purpose of the charity

We have a similar situation on our allotments. Under the Allotment Act, surplus produce can only be sold for the association (not sure how this applies to honey sales). I offered to provide a breakdown of costs - equipment, feeding/treating, my time and petrol in servicing the colonies etc to offset the "profits". I also pointed out that as every plot holder would benefit from any profits from honey sales, then every plot holder should undertake some "bee" duties. I found that as soon as I asked the Association to do anything, they backed off.
To be fair, most of the members simply want to grow veg for their own use and accept free polination from the bees.

 

[citybees]

You maybe need to ask one of our law profession members but proper advice may attract fees.

Any suggestions?

 

[blackcloud]

If there was a contract there before it would be just up to them to give notice before a change of terms.
If not then the classic "two choices" apply.

 

[IndiBee]

Very easy - you keep bees elsewhere as well (yes you do, they don't need to know where). Any honey taken off the allotment bees are used to feed the other bees.
That honey you have for sale? Taken from other bees, not allotment bees
Proof? They need to provide it, not you.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Any suggestions?

Allotments & The Law - Legal Aspects of An Allotment Sarah Gill looks to be worth a call, and according to this web page, the NSALG has a legal consultant.

Posts 26 & 30 suggest that although commercial activity is forbidden, sale of surplus is permitted. Would need further investigation.

 

[madasafish]

Personally if someone changed a contract on me unilaterally and without prior discussion, I would just leave and take my bees with me.
Life is not worth the hassle .

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Any suggestions?

Rather than push anyone unwilling I'll let one of them reveal themselves voluntarily

 

[citybees]

thanks to all that have responded , there so many interesting and invaluable informations in your messages ,
there's been some development , I responded to the allotment trustees asking for the opportunity to discuss the beekeeping licence terms that were proposing and to come to some agreement I suggested someone from a mediation organisation to facilitate this .
they responded by giving me a termination notice and 3 months time to vacate the allotment .

I immagine I have to write back refuting the notice if id not agree with it?

 

[pargyle]

thanks to all that have responded , there so many interesting and invaluable informations in your messages ,
there's been some development , I responded to the allotment trustees asking for the opportunity to discuss the beekeeping licence terms that were proposing and to come to some agreement I suggested someone from a mediation organisation to facilitate this .
they responded by giving me a termination notice and 3 months time to vacate the allotment .

I immagine I have to write back refuting the notice if id not agree with it?

I would have let sleeping dogs lie and just kept doing what you have been doing and waited for them to challenge you. You've opened a can of worms now ! If the agreement gives them the right to terminate your agreement without giving reasonable cause then you don't have a leg to stand on. I think I would find a new site and tell them to stick their agreement where the sun doesn't shine. You've clearly put their backs up and its not going to get better. Allotment apiary sites rarely succeed without problems... many posts on here about avoiding them. I've had personal experience of being asked to put bees in a local Allotment site... it was more trouble before the bees even got there than I could cope with. There are better places... go looking.

 

[Ian123]

Why would you bother writing back, you are on another’s property they’ve asked you to leave!

 

[pargyle]

Why would you bother writing back, you are on another’s property they’ve asked you to leave!

That rather depends upon what is written into the licence agreement.. if the members are jointly responsible for implementing any changes or whether the managing committee has the authority to do it without recourseto a full members vote. If they have the ability to terminate a plot holder without any reasonable cause then you are right. If it states that the licence can only be revoked if there is contravention of the agreement...then he could challenge it if he hasn't contravened the terms of the licence. Depends what is written in the licence agreement under Termination. There should be something about it in there. Either way I'd pack my bees up and leave... as Mike said earlier.. life's too short.

 

[madasafish]

They sound a right bunch of ####holes.

 

[fian]

Use the 3-month period in both directions of action:
A. Looking for a new location for the apiary, including requesting a member of your local bbka for temporary transfer if you do not obtain a location in a timely manner.
B. Look for the current agreement to be put to a vote by all members. You may find other colleagues who are in a similar situation regarding their surpluses. Perhaps if there are no surpluses there will be no benefits for the board and they will decide to restructure the agreement to an intermediate point.
C. Nothing prevents you having obtained any option from terminating the agreement on the last day. Dissatisfied but with honor.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

They sound a right bunch of ####holes.

it's a club I wouldn't want to be a member of